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AMERICAN  FIGHTS  AND  FIGHTERS 


AMERICAN    FIGHTS 
AND    FIGHTERS 


STORIES  OF  THE  FIRST  FIVE  WARS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

FROM  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

TO  THE  WAR  OF  1812 


BY 

CYRUS  TOWNSEND  BRADY 

AUTHOR  OF  "FOR  LOVE  OF  COUNTRY,"  "FOR  THE  FREEDOM  OF  THE  SEA," 

"THE  GRIP  OF  HONOR,"  "STEPHEN  DECATUR,"  "RECOLLECTIONS 

OF  A  MISSIONARY  IN  THE  GREAT  WEST,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

McCLURE,  PHILLIPS  &  CO. 
1900 


Copyright,  1900,  by 
MCCLURE,  PHILLIPS  &  Co. 

First  Impression,  September,  1900. 
Second  Impression,  November,  19OO. 


TO   THE   MEMORY    OF   MY   SISTER, 
CORA  TOWNSEND   BRADY 


PREFATORY    NOTE 


THIS  book  is  designed  to  call  to  the  attention  of  those 
interested  in  our  early  struggles,  some  of  the  most  re- 
markable of  the  great  battles,  heroic  achievements  and 
desperate  undertakings  through  which  we  became  a 
nation.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  cover  all  the 
events  in  the  wars  referred  to.  The  author  has  chosen 
such  as  would  serve  to  present  a  variety  of  incident,  to 
illustrate  the  period  and  to  exhibit  the  leaders  and  men. 
In  the  compiling  of  this  book  he  has  freely  used  every 
available  source  of  information  to  which  he  had  access, 
including  the  numerous  printed  volumes  on  the  subject, 
and  much  material  in  manuscript  form.  Although  the 
sketches  are  intended  for  popular  reading,  it  is  believed 
that  they  are  accurate  and  reliable.  Other  volumes  of 
the  same  character,  covering  the  history  of  the  wars 
and  adventures  in  which  we  have  been  interested,  from 
the  voyages  of  Columbus  to  the  capture  of  Manila,  are 
in  contemplation  and  preparation.  That  the  stories 
may  serve  to  stimulate  patriotism  and  love  of  country, 
and  to  encourage  men  to  consecrate  themselves,  with 
the  devotion  of  their  forefathers,  to  the  civic  battles  for 
freedom  and  honor  which  are  still  to  be  waged,  is  the 
hope  of  the  author. 

C.  T.  B. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  1900. 


CONTENTS 

PART  I 
THE   WAR   OF   THE   REVOLUTION 


THE  DEFENSE  OF  FORT  SULLIVAN 

How  THE  SOUTH  WAS  SAVED  TO  THE  REVOLUTION        .        .        3 

WASHINGTON'S   GREATEST   CAMPAIGN 

i.    TRENTON         ......        .       .       .16 

ii.     PRINCETON      .........      27 

PAUL  JONES'   GREATEST   BATTLE      .....      39 

THE  SARATOGA   CAMPAIGN 

i.    THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  DETACHMENTS       ....  56 

ii.    FORT  STANWIX.    ORISKANY  ......  62 

in.     BENNINGTON  .........  67 

THE   SARATOGA   CAMPAIGN—  ii 

i.    THE  END  OF  THE  MAIN  ARMY        ....        .71 

ii.     STILLWATER    .........      76 

HI.    SARATOGA  AND  THE  SURRENDER    .....      So 

GREENE'S  CAMPAIGN   IN   THE   CAROLINAS 

i.    THE  BEGINNING,  THE  COWPENS  AND  GUILFORD  COURT 

HOUSE        .........      84 

GREENE'S   CAMPAIGN    IN   THE   CAROLINAS 

ii.     HOBKIRK'S  HILL,  EUTAW  SPRINGS  AND  THE  END          .     102 

STORM  AND  SURPRISE 

I.      TlCONDEROGA  ........      117 

ii.     STONY  POINT  ........        .121 

in.     PAULUS  HOOK         .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .     125 


x  Contents 

SOME  MINOR  SEA-FIGHTS  OF  THE   REVOLUTION  PAGE 

I.       BlDDLE  AND  THE  RANDOLPH 128 

ii.    NICHOLSON  AND  THE  TRIJMBULL 132 

in.     BARNEY  AND  THE  HYDER  A LLY 136 

iv.     BARRY  AND  THE  ALLIANCE 139 

YORKTOWN        .                .  143 


PART  II 
THE   INDIAN   WAR   IN   THE   NORTHWEST 

1791—1794 
ST.   CLAIR'S  DEFEAT 163 


PART  III 
THE   WAR  WITH   FRANCE 

1798 — 1800 
TRUXTUN  AND  THE   CONSTELLATION         .        .        .179 


PART  IV 
WAR  WITH   TRIPOLI 

1802 — 1805 
DECATUR  AND  THE  PHILADELPHIA      ....     199 


Contents  xi 

PART  V 

THE   SECOND   WAR   WITH    ENGLAND 
1812 — 1815 

PAGE 

THE    CONSTITUTION'S  HARDEST  FIGHT       .         .         .215 

THE   NIAGARA   CAMPAIGN 

i.    CHIPPEWA .        .  226 

ii.    LUNDY'S  LANE 233 

in.    THE  SIEGE  OF  FORT  ERIE 238 

THE   AMERICAN   WASPS  AND   THEIR  VICTIMS 

i.     THE  FROLIC 244 

ii.     THE  REINDEER 250 

in.    IKS.  AVON 253 

MACDONOUGH  AT   LAKE   CHAMPLAIN 

WAR  OF  1812 258 

REID   AND   THE   GENERAL  ARMSTRONG      .        .        .272 

THE  DEFENSE  OF  LOUISIANA— THE  LAST  BATTLE  WITH 
ENGLAND 287 

THE   CONSTITUTION'S  LAST   BATTLE    .        .         .        .304 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  THE  PHILADELPHIA       .        .  Frontispiece 

From  a  very  rare  old  print. 

FACING  PAGE 

DEATH  OF  MCDONALD,  AND  SERGEANT  JASPER  RAISING 
THE  FLAG  AT  FORT  MOULTRIE 10 

From  an  engraving  by  F.  O.  C.  Darley. 

SURRENDER    OF    COLONEL    RALL   AT   THE   BATTLE    OF 
PRINCETON 26 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  Chappel. 

THE  ALLIANCE  FIRING  ON  THE  BON  HOMME  RICHARD 
AND  THE  SERAPIS 52 

From  an  engraving  by  Rogers  of  the  drawing  by  Fitler. 

ARNOLD  WOUNDED  IN  THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  HESSIAN  RE- 
DOUBT AT  SARATOGA 80 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  Chappel. 

DEATH  OF  BARON  DE  KALB 86 

From  an  engraving  by  F.  O.  C.  Darley. 

BATTLE  OF  EUTAW  SPRINGS 114 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  Chappel. 

SIEGE  OF  YORKTOWN 152 

From  a  French  engraving  of  a  painting  by  Couder. 

GENERAL  ARTHUR  ST.  CLAIR 172 

THOMAS  TRUXTUN 192 

The  medal  and  Congressional  letter  presented  to  him  after  the  action  be- 
tween the  Constellation  and  La.  Vengeance. 

THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  JA  VA 222 

From  an  engraving  in  the  collection  of  Charles  T.  Harbeck,  Esq. 


xiv  List  of  Illustrations 

FACING   PAGE 

BATTLE  OF  CHIPPEWA         .        .        .        .  .        .  230 

From  an  engraving  of  ike  painting  by  Chappel. 

BATTLE  OF  LUNDY'S  LANE  . 236 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  Chappel. 

CAPTURE  OF  THE  FROLIC  BY  THE  WASP    ....  248 

From  a  rare  engraving  by  Kearny  after  a  sketch  by  Lieutenant  Claxton 
of  the  "Wasf." 

BATTLE  OF  PLATTSBURG .  264 

From  the  "Naval  Temple" 

BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS 300 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  Martin. 


AMERICAN  FIGHTS  AND  FIGHTERS 

PART  I 
THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


THE  DEFENSE  OF  FORT  SULLIVAN 


HOW    THE    SOUTH    WAS    SAVED    TO 
THE    REVOLUTION 

WHILE  Washington's  masterly  strategy  held  Howe's 
army  cooped  up  in  Boston,  the  British  government 
determined  to  send  an  expedition  to  the  southern 
colonies  in  the  hope  of  alienating  them  from  the  Ameri- 
can cause.  It  was  a  foolish  expedition  and  an  un- 
necessary one.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  with  seven  regi- 
ments left  Boston  early  in  January,  1 776,  for  the  Cape 
Fear  River,  where  he  was  to  meet  a  large  auxiliary 
force  of  war  vessels  and  transports  early  in  the  spring. 
Meanwhile  Martin,  the  royal  Governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina— the  fourth  in  population  and  importance  among 
the  colonies — had  organized  a  Tory  force  of  some  six- 
teen hundred  men,  mainly  Scots,  former  adherents 
of  the  Stuarts,  who  had  come  to  the  colony  after  the 
futile  rebellion  in  1745.  This  force  was  led  by  Donald 
Macdonald  and  his  kinsman,  Allan  Macdonald,  the 
husband  of  the  noted  and  romantic  Flora  Macdonald, 
who  had  secured  the  escape  of  the  Pretender,  Charles 
Edward,  after  Culloden.  They  were  now  become  loyal 
adherents  of  the  British  crown.  At  the  Battle  of 


4         American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Moore's  Creek,  February  27,  1776,  this  force  was  de- 
feated by  Colonel  Richard  Caswell  with  one  thousand 
men  strongly  posted  at  a  bridge  over  the  creek,  which 
Macdonald  attempted  to  storm.  The  rout  of  the  high- 
landers  was  complete ;  they  lost  nine  hundred  prisoners, 
two  thousand  stand  of  arms  and  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars  in  gold.  That  settled  the  fate  of  North  Caro- 
lina. In  the  face  of  the  militia  force,  now  amounting 
to  ten  thousand  men,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  decided  not  to 
land,  but  cruised  to  and  fro  off  the  coast  waiting  for 
Parker  and  the  expedition  from  Ireland,  and  a  lone- 
some time  they  had  of  it. 

In  England  preparations  to  carry  on  the  expedition 
were  allowed  to  drag  in  a  most  unmilitary  manner,  and 
it  was  not  until  February,  1776,  that  the  force  which 
had  rendezvoused  at  Cork,  in  Ireland,  set  sail  for  the 
Cape  Fear  River,  where  they  were  to  meet  the  weary 
and  impatient  Sir  Henry  Clinton  with  the  seven  regi- 
ments aforesaid.  When  they  did  start,  misfortune  at- 
tended them  from  the  beginning.  A  succession  of  fierce 
westerly  gales  and  head  winds  so  far  delayed  their  prog- 
ress that  it  was  not  until  May  that  they  reached  Amer- 
ica. Commodore  Sir  Peter  Parker,  the  early  friend  and 
patron  of  Nelson  and  Collingwood,  a  distinguished  vet- 
eran, then  sixty  years  old,  and  who  afterward  rose  to 
the  very  high  rank  of  Admiral-of-the-fleet  in  the  Brit- 
ish service,  commanded  the  expedition.  The  troops 
he  convoyed  were  led  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  who  was, 
however,  junior  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  assumed 
command  of  all  the  land  forces  at  their  junction. 

There  were  divided  counsels  between  the  army  and 
the  navy  in  this  ill-organized  expedition,  but  at  the  ear- 
nest solicitation  of  Lord  William  Campbell,  the  deposed 
royalist  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  it  was  finally 


The  Defense  of  Fort  Sullivan          5 

decided  to  attack  Charleston  first;  it  was  then,  as  now, 
the  most  important  city  in  the  South,  and,  as  always, 
quite  spoiling  for  a  fight!  Early  in  June,  the  British 
fleet  of  some  fifty  vessels  appeared  off  the  bar  of 
Charleston  Harbor.  Unaccountable  delays  prevented 
the  attack  until  the  twenty-eighth  of  June.  The  Amer- 
icans were  not  idle  during  this  period.  The  South 
Carolinians,  under  the  energetic  leadership  of  Governor 
Rutledge,  had  been  busily  engaged  in  putting  the  har- 
bor, the  city  and  the  province  in  a  state  of  defense. 
The  militia  had  been  called  out  and  the  erection  of  a 
rude  fort  had  been  commenced  on  the  southern  extrem- 
ity of  Sullivan's  Island,  which  commanded  the  channel 
some  three  miles  from  the  town.  The  Island  was  low, 
sandy,  and  in  parts  thickly  wooded  with  palmetto  trees. 
Adjoining  the  Island  on  the  seaward  side  and  separated 
from  it  by  a  small  inlet  was  another  body  of  land, 
known  as  Long  Island,  which  was  a  bare  strip  of  sand, 
dotted  here  and  there  with  a  few  bushes. 

To  the  second  regiment  of  the  North  Carolina  mili- 
tia, Colonel  William  Moultrie,  had  been  entrusted  the 
construction  of  the  works,  for  the  defense  of  the  Island 
and  the  protection  of  the  channel.  Out  of  the  palmetto 
logs  on  the  Island,  they  built  a  square  fort  with  bas- 
tions at  each  angle  called  Fort  Sullivan.  Two  rows  of 
logs  notched  and  bolted  together  with  wooden  tree- 
nails and  placed  about  eighteen  feet  apart,  with  the  in- 
terspace solidly  filled  with  sand,  formed  the  enclosure. 
General  Charles  Lee,  who  had  been  sent  to  take  charge 
of  the  defenses  of  the  province,  sneered  at  it  as  being 
absolutely  untenable,  characterizing  it  as  a  probable 
slaughter-pen,  and  predicted  that  one  British  frigate 
would  knock  it  to  pieces  in  an  hour!  All  the  British 
frigates  present  seemed  to  have  entertained  the  same 


6         American  Fights  and  Fighters 

opinion.  The  only  other  contributions  that  Lee  made 
to  the  defense  of  the  place  were  to  withdraw  about 
eight  hundred  of  Moultrie's  men,  to  endeavor  to  re- 
lieve him  of  the  command  of  the  post,  and  to  abandon  it. 
These  last  attempts  were  prevented  by  the  determined 
resistance  of  Governor  Rutledge,  who  had  faith  in 
Moultrie  and  in  the  work.  The  governor  asked  Moul- 
trie  if  he  could  defend  the  fort.  "I  think  I  can," 
replied  the  phlegmatic  soldier;  whereupon  Rutledge 
wrote  him  as  follows:  "General  Lee  wishes  you  to 
evacuate  the  fort.  You  are  not  to  do  so  without  an 
order  from  me;  I  will  sooner  cut  off  my  right  hand 
than  write  one !"  Brave  words !  When  Lee  could  do 
no  more,  he  wearied  Moultrie  to  death  with  orders  and 
instructions  for  him  to  build  a  bridge  by  which  to  re- 
treat. The  idea  of  a  retreat  absolutely  never  even  pre- 
sented itself  as  a  possible  contingency  to  the  imperturb- 
able American,  who  built  no  bridges ! 

The  fort  was  armed  with  twenty-six  guns  of  assorted 
sizes,  long  eighteen  and  twenty-four  pounders  being  in 
the  majority.  On  the  day  of  the  battle,  it  was  garri- 
soned by  some  four  hundred  and  fifty  men,  only  thirty 
of  whom  were  artillerists.  The  rest,  however,  were 
expert  riflemen;  it  was  found  that  their  training  with 
small  arms  was  of  great  value  in  enabling  them  to 
sight  the  great  guns.  Next  to  Moultrie  in  command 
was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Isaac  Motte,  and  the  major  of 
the  regiment  was  the  subsequently  famous  partizan 
leader  Francis  Marion.  Moultrie  and  his  officers  had 
served  in  the  Indian  wars  of  the  province,  and  were 
cool,  resolute  soldiers.  The  English  plan  of  attack 
seems  to  have  been  for  the  troops  to  land  upon  Long 
Island,  pass  the  inlet  which  separated  them  from  Sul- 
livan's Island,  and  which  they  had  been  informed  was 


The  Defense  of  Fort  Sullivan          7 

easily  fordable ;  and  then,  in  conjunction  with  the  ships 
which  would  silence  the  American  guns,  they  would 
storm  the  position,  which  would  leave  the  channel  free 
and  open  the  way  for  their  attack  on  the  town.  It 
never  seems  to  have  occurred  to  them  that  the  ships 
could  have  passed  the  fort  without  difficulty,  as  indeed 
was  done  several  years  later,  and  by  capturing  the  city 
render  the  outworks  untenable. 

However,  in  spite  of  his  contempt  for  American 
arms,  Sir  Peter  Parker  seems  to  have  made  his  dispo- 
sitions wisely.  He  purposed  that  the  Bristol  and  the 
Experiment,  two  small  line-of-battle  ships  of  fifty  guns 
each,  and  the  frigates  Active  and  Solebay,  of  twenty- 
eight  guns  each,  should  assault  the  fort  at  close  range 
directly  in  front  of  it.  The  frigates  Action  and 
Syren,  of  twenty-eight  guns  each,  the  sloop-of-war 
Sphynx,  of  twenty-two  guns,  with  the  Friendship,  the 
Ranger  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  small  armed  ships,  were 
ordered  to  take  a  position  on  the  west  flank  of  the  fort, 
which  was  there  still  unfinished,  the  wall  rising  only 
seven  feet;  though  the  parapet  had  been  strengthened 
by  heavy  planking  as  a  protection  against  possible  or 
probable  assault  this  defense  would  avail  little  against 
heavy  guns.  These  latter  ships  were  to  enfilade  the 
works  and  render  them  untenable.  On  the  other  flank, 
a  bomb  vessel,  the  Thunder,  was  stationed  to  shell  the 
works. 

Unfortunately  for  the  British,  the  shallowness  of 
the  water  did  not  permit  them  to  bring  the  heavy  ships 
of  the  main  attacking  column  nearer  than  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  yards,  which  of  course  prevented  the  ef- 
fective use  of  grape-shot,  a  main  resource  for  clearing 
an  enemy's  works  in  such  a  contingency.  At  half  past 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  ships  got  under  way 


8         American  Fights  and  Fighters 

with  the  flood  tide;  at  a  quarter  after  eleven  the  first 
four  had  anchored  at  their  stations,  the  Active  off  the 
east  bastion,  the  Experiment  and  the  Solcbay  off  the 
west  bastion,  and  the  Bristol,  carrying  Sir  Peter  Par- 
ker's flag,  off  the  curtain,  or  wall  between  the  two  bas- 
tions. The  Sphynx,  Actaon  and  Syren  owing  to 
mismanagement  on  the  part  of  the  pilots,  fouled  each 
other  disastrously  and  got  aground  on  a  shoal  in  the 
middle  ground.  The  bomb  vessel  broke  down  after 
throwing  a  few  shell  into  the  fort,  which  produced  no 
material  effect,  as  they  mainly  alighted  in  a  morass 
where  their  fuses  were  quenched ;  and  the  three  smaller 
vessels,  not  liking  the  look  of  things,  and  deprived  of 
the  assistance  of  the  frigates,  withdrew  without  going 
into  action  at  all.  This  left  the  two  small  ships-of-the- 
line  and  the  two  light  frigates  to  do  the  fighting. 

A  little  after  eleven  o'clock  they  poured  their  heavy 
broadsides  of  solid  shot  into  the  fort,  and  on  the  part  of 
the  British  thereafter  the  firing  was  fast  and  furious. 
The  shot  of  the  British  guns  made  little  or  no  impres- 
sion upon  the  soft,  spongy  palmetto  logs  into  which 
they  sank,  or  through  which  they  penetrated  without 
splintering  them,  only  to  bury  themselves  harmlessly 
in  the  sandy  banking  between  the  log  walls.  On  the 
other  hand  the  firing  of  the  Americans  was  slow  but 
dreadfully  destructive.  At  the  beginning  of  the  battle 
Moultrie  actually  had  but  twenty-eight  charges  of  pow- 
der per  gun!  He  sent  to  General  Lee  for  more 
and  received  word  that  if  he  had  exhausted  his  pow- 
der without  driving  off  the  ships  he  should  re- 
tire! Governor  Rutledge,  however,  sent  him  a 
small  supply  and  the  intrepid  Marion  volunteered 
with  a  small  party  of  heroic  men  to  get  some  from  a 
small  schooner  near  by  which  was  fully  exposed  to  the 


The  Defense  of  Fort  Sullivan          9 

British  fire.  Altogether  the  supply  did  not  amount  to 
more  than  forty  rounds.  It  was  enough,  however. 

Rutledge  had  given  orders  to  Moultrie  to  throw 
away  no  shot,  and  these  instructions  were  in  conso- 
nance with  the  cool,  deliberate  spirit  of  the  American 
commander.  The  riflemen  of  the  fort  exhibited  won- 
derful marksmanship  and  scarcely  a  shot  was  lost. 
The  officers  themselves  sighted  the  guns,  and  their 
bullets  nearly  always  sped  to  their  mark.  The  heavy 
shot  ripped  up  the  planking  of  the  ships  in  every  direc- 
tion. "Mind  the  commodore,  look  out  for  the  fifty- 
gun  ships !"  was  the  word  Moultrie  gave  to  be  passed 
among  his  men,  and  the  execution  on  these  ships  was 
dreadful.  About  noon,  when  he  looked  for  the  coope- 
ration of  the  army,  Sir  Peter  Parker  was  informed  by  a 
message  from  Clinton  that  he  had  found  that  the  pas- 
sage between  the  islands  was  some  seven  feet  deep  at 
low  tide  and  utterly  impracticable.  Only  the  grossest 
indifference  on  the  part  of  the  British  had  prevented 
this  fact  from  being  known  for  days  before. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  marched  some  troops  down  to 
the  inlet,  where  he  was  met  by  a  smart  fire  from  the 
American  militia,  encamped  on  Sullivan's  Island,  for 
the  purpose  of  disputing  the  passage  of  the  inlet  and 
supporting  the  fort ;  and  after  a  brief  artillery  duel  be- 
tween his  batteries  and  a  single  American  eighteen 
pounder,  under  Thompson,  which  was  ineffective  on 
both  sides,  the  English  marched  back  again.  Later  in 
the  day,  Clinton  also  embarked  a  number  of  troops 
in  boats  and  sailed  down  the  coast  with  a  view  to 
effecting  a  landing  on  the  same  Island;  but  a  num- 
ber of  Thompson's  militia  who  took  advantage  of  the 
cover  afforded  by  the  sandhills  and  bushes  and 
poured  in  a  hot  fire,  rendered  the  operation  imprac- 


io       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

ticable — Sir  Henry  at  least  had  not  forgotten  Bunker 
Hill  and  its  lessons — so  he  took  his  men  back  to  Long 
Island,  where  they  continued  their  battle  with  the  hot 
sun,  the  bad  water,  and  the  active  mosquito,  and 
watched  Parker  banging  away  furiously  at  the  fort 
for  the  rest  of  the  day.  His  excursion  had  been  a  no- 
table diversion  indeed. 

The  wharves  and  buildings  along  the  shore  of 
Charleston  were  covered  with  people  listening  to  the 
roar  of  the  guns,  watching  the  attack  on  the  fort,  upon 
whose  resistance  their  own  future  so  largely  depended. 
There  had  been  flying  from  a  staff  the  flag  of  the  regi- 
ment, which  had  been  designed  by  Moultrie  himself — 
it  was  a  blue  flag  with  a  white  crescent  in  the  dexter 
corner,  with  the  word  "Liberty"  emblazoned  upon  it — 
when,  to  the  horror  of  the  spectators,  they  observed 
through  a  rift  in  the  smoke  that  the  flag  was  down ! 
It  had  been  shot  away,  and  had  fallen  on  the  sand  out- 
side of  the  fort.  Their  emotions  can  be  imagined. 
That  little  fort  alone  stood  between  them  and  disaster, 
its  capture  meant  the  destruction  of  their  homes,  their 
captivity,  possible  dangers  worse  than  death  to  their 
wives  and  children  from  savages  against  whom  they 
would  be  unable  to  protect  themselves  subsequently. 
Every  hope  was  wrapped  up  in  Moultrie  and  his  gallant 
men — a  fact,  by  the  way,  of  which  the  latter  were  fully 
sensible — and  it  was  that  which  nerved  their  arms  and 
sustained  their  spirits,  it  was  that  which  made  them 
determine  that  not  a  single  precious  charge  of  powder 
should  be  wasted. 

Sergeant  William  Jasper,  an  heroic  soldier,  instantly 
climbed  through  an  embrasure,  leaped  over  the  parapet, 
seized  the  flag,  tore  it  from  its  broken  staff  and  affixed 
it  to  a  halberd ;  and  untouched  by  the  storm  of  shot 


+3     _«< 


The  Defense  of  Fort  Sullivan        1 1 

which  was  poured  upon  him,  planted  it  as  he  said 
"in  the  bastion  nearest  the  enemy,"  where  it  flew  un- 
harmed during  the  remainder  of  the  battle.  Sergeant 
Macdaniel  was  mortally  wounded  by  a  shot  which  came 
through  an  embrasure.  As  he  was  carried  away  from 
the  gun  platform  the  brave  fellow  cried  out  to  his 
brother  soldiers,  "I  am  dying,  but  don't  let  the  cause 
of  liberty  die  with  me  this  day."  But  there  was  equal 
heroism  on  the  other  side  as  well.  The  British  had 
expected  an  easy  victory,  but  they  took  the  dreadful 
punishment  they  received  like  the  heroes  they  were. 

As  the  tide  began  to  ebb,  one  of  the  springs  on  the 
cable  of  the  Bristol  was  shot  away,  and  the  ship  swung 
with  the  tide,  presenting  her  stern  to  the  fort.  Her 
condition  at  once  became  critical,  not  to  say  desperate. 
She  was  raked  again  and  again;  every  man  on  her 
quarter-deck  was  either  killed  or  wounded.  The  brave 
old  commodore  covered  with  blood,  his  clothing  torn 
from  him  by  splinters,  remained  alone  at  his  station,  on 
the  exposed  quarter-deck  on  which  all  of  the  other  offi- 
cers stationed  there  had  been  killed  or  wounded,  calmly 
refusing  to  retire  to  a  safer  spot  while  he  gave  direc- 
tions for  extricating  the  ship  from  her  terrible  position. 
Captain  John  Morris,  the  commander  of  the  ship,  lost 
his  right  arm,  and  when  the  stump  had  been  dressed  in- 
sisted on  resuming  his  station  by  the  commodore,  and  it 
was  not  until  he  received  several  other  severe  wounds 
from  the  effects  of  which  he  very  soon  died,  that  he  al- 
lowed himself  to  be  taken  below.  The  Experiment 
was  in  little  better  case  than  the  Bristol.  The  carnage 
on  both  ships  was  appalling,  amounting  to  nearly  thir- 
ty-five per  cent,  of  their  total  force.  Through  the  ener- 
gy of  Midshipman  Saumarez,  afterward  a  famous 
admiral,  a  new  spring  was  bent  to  the  cable  and  the 


12       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

broadside  of  the  Bristol  was  again  turned  to  the  fort. 
Sir  Peter  in  all  his  wars  had  never  stood  under  a  hot- 
ter fire. 

During  the  action  General  Lee  came  over  to  the  fort 
to  see  how  matters  were  getting  along,  and  finding 
everything  was  going  well,  he  returned  to  his  position 
in  the  city.  The  officers,  who  had  been  coolly  smoking 
their  pipes,  received  him  with  all  military  honors,  and 
Moultrie  of  course  said  nothing  about  the  bridge, 
though  I  imagine  he  wished  to  do  so.  The  men,  most 
of  them  half-naked,  in  the  fierce  sun  and  heat,  deliber- 
ately fought  on,  refreshed  by  copious  draughts  from 
large  buckets  of  grog,  which  Moultrie  mixed  with  his 
own  hand.  As  the  shades  of  evening  descended,  Par- 
ker made  a  last  desperate  effort  to  batter  down  the 
defenses.  The  firing  was  by  broadsides  simultaneous- 
ly, and  as  the  heavy  shot  from  the  tremendous  dis- 
charges of  over  one  hundred  guns  smashed  upon  the 
fort,  the  walls  quivered  and  trembled  so  that  Moultrie 
thought  several  times  that  the  merlons  between  the 
embrasures  would  be  beaten  in.  However,  they  still 
held,  and  after  continuing  a  fierce  fire,  to  which  the 
Americans  kept  up  their  slow,  persistent,  annoying,  gall- 
ing reply,  until  most  of  their  ammunition  was  expend- 
ed, they  gave  over  the  attempt.  A  little  after  nine 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  British  withdrew,  all,  that  is. 
except  the  frigate  Actceon,  which  had  not  yet  succeeded 
in  getting  off  the  shoal.  By  Parker's  orders,  next 
morning  she  was  set  on  fire  by  her  crew  and  abandoned. 
The  Americans  took  possession  of  her,  discharged  her 
battery  at  the  retiring  Englishmen,  captured  her  col- 
ors, and  several  boatloads  of  arms  and  supplies,  be- 
fore she  blew  up. 

The  loss  on  the  Bristol  amounted  to  forty  killed 


The  Defense  of  Fort  Sullivan        13 

and  seventy-two  wounded,  including  Captain  Morris, 
mortally.  The  Experiment  had  twenty-three  killed 
and  forty-five  wounded,  her  captain  losing  his  right 
arm;  on  the  Active  and  Solebay,  fifteen  men  were 
killed  and  wounded;  and  the  American  loss  was  ten 
killed  and  twenty-six  wounded !  Lord  William  Camp- 
bell, the  quondam  royal  Governor  of  South  Carolina, 
served  on  the  Bristol  as  a  volunteer  and  took  charge 
of  a  division  on  the  lower  gun  deck  during  the  action. 
He  was  severely  injured  by  a  spent  ball  and  after  suf- 
fering for  two  years,  died  from  the  effects  of  the 
blow.  The  Bristol  and  the  Experiment  were  nearly 
dismantled,  the  main  and  mizzenmasts  of  the  former 
were  tottering,  the  foremast  badly  wounded.  The 
mizzenmast  fell  over  the  side  early  the  next  day  be- 
fore it  could  be  secured,  the  mainmast  was  cut  away 
fifteen  feet  below  the  hounds,  the  ship  was  completely 
unrigged,  and  several  of  her  guns  had  been  dismount- 
ed. The  Experiment  was  in  a  scarcely  better  condition. 
The  Active  and  Solebay  could  with  difficulty  be  kept 
afloat.  The  Sphynx  and  the  Syren  had  suffered 
somewhat  from  the  American  fire  and  much  more  from 
the  effects  of  their  collision  and  grounding. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  loaded  his  troops  back  on  the 
transports  and,  convoyed  by  a  single  frigate,  the  only 
war  vessel  left  seaworthy  after  the  action,  sailed  away 
and  joined  Howe's  expedition  at  New  York.  Parker 
took  three  \veeks  to  refit  his  ships  when  he  also  de- 
parted. South  Carolina  and  the  Southern  States  gene- 
rally, were  free  from  invasion  for  at  least  two  years 
and  the  story  of  this  splendid  victory  helped  to  encour- 
age and  inspirit  the  remainder  of  the  Americans  in  the 
critical  period  attending  the  beginning  of  their  great 
struggle  for  liberty.  The  greatest  praise  was  given 


14       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Moultrie  and  his  gallant  comrades  for  their  brave  de- 
fense of  the  fort,  which  in  his  honor  was  renamed 
Fort  Moultrie,  and  the  commander  was  made  a  briga- 
dier-general in  the  regular  Continental  service. 

He  rose  to  the  rank  of  major-general  thereafter,  and 
on  one  occasion  saved  Charleston  a  second  time  from 
being  captured,  by  the  spirited  defense  he  made  against 
Prevost's  attack.  He  was  unfortunately  made  pris- 
oner when  Charleston  was  captured  by  Cornwallis, 
several  years  later,  and  remained  in  captivity  during  the 
balance  of  the  war.  But  he  resisted  every  attempt 
which  was  made  by  the  British  to  seduce  him  from  the 
American  cause,  with  the  same  determination  that  he 
had  defended  his  position.  He  was  several  times  made 
governor  of  his  native  state  after  independence  had 
been  achieved,  and  died  early  in  the  present  century 
full  of  years  and  honors.  The  heroism  of  Sergeant 
Jasper  was  rewarded  by  the  present  of  an  elegant  sword 
and  the  proffer  of  a  lieutenant's  commission.  He  ac- 
cepted the  former,  but.  modestly  declined  the  latter  on 
the  ground  that  neither  by  birth,  education  nor  fortune, 
was  he  a  fit  person  for  the  command.  One  of  the  most 
beautiful  women  of  Charleston  presented  a  pair  of 
colors  to  Moultrie's  regiment  with  the  following  little 
speech : 

"Your  gallant  behavior  in  defense  of  liberty  and 
your  country  entitles  you  to  the  highest  honors;  ac- 
cept these  two  standards  as  a  reward  justly  due  your 
regiment;  and  I  make  not  the  least  doubt,  under 
heaven's  protection,  you  will  stand  by  them  as  long  as 
they  can  wave  in  the  air  of  liberty." 

The  regiment  accepted  the  colors  in  the  spirit  of 
the  generous  donor.  When  the  ill-fated  attempt  by 
Howe  and  d'Estaing  was  made  to  storm  the  British 


The  Defense  of  Fort  Sullivan        15 

lines  at  Savannah  during  the  war,  the  flags  were  planted 
upon  the  entrenchments  by  their  bearers,  Lieutenants 
Bush  and  Hume, who  were  both  immediately  shot  down. 
Lieutenant  Gray  while  making  an  effort  to  advance 
them  met  the  same  fate.  Sergeant  Jasper  successful- 
ly bore  them  away  finally  in  the  repulse,  but  in  so 
doing  received  his  death  wound — faithful  to  the  last. 
The  colors  were  captured  when  Charleston  was  final- 
ly surrendered  and  they  are  now  among  the  most 
cherished  mementoes  of  British  prowess  kept  in  the 
trophy  room  in  the  Tower  of  London.  Certainly  no 
flag  ever  flew  over  better  men  than  that  under  which 
Moultrie  and  Marion  commanded  and  Jasper  and  Mac- 
daniel  fought! 


WASHINGTON'S    GREATEST 
CAMPAIGN 


I.  TRENTON 

THERE  are  three  things  which  determine  the  relative 
values  of  military  enterprises — the  idea,  the  method 
and  the  result.  From  these  points  of  view,  Washing- 
ton's Trenton  and  Princeton  campaign  ranks  among 
the  most  brilliant  in  history,  and  its  conception  and  the 
manner  of  its  prosecution  stamp  him  as  a  soldier  of  the 
first  order.  The  importance  of  the  end  aimed  at,  and 
attained  in  large  measure,  can  hardly  be  overstated. 
Although  neither  of  the  engagements  which  took  place 
in  carrying  out  the  great  idea  of  it  rose  to  the  dignity 
of  a  battle  but  must  rather  be  classed  as  heavy  skir- 
mishes, I  regard  it  as  one  of  those  decisive  operations 
which  are  turning  points  in  history.  Had  the  re- 
sults been  other  than  they  were,  the  whole  course  of 
the  world  would  have  been  altered.  In  spite  of  the 
apparent  insignificance  of  the  operations,  the  incidents 
of  the  campaign,  when  the  material  with  which  it  was 
worked  out  is  considered,  are  as  fraught  with  interest, 
as  full  of  value  to  the  soldier,  and  evidence  as  much 
greatness  in  the  leader,  as  if  Washington  had  held 
under  his  command  a  hundred  thousand  men,  and  the 

16 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign     17 

little  combats  had  been  as  great  and  as  sanguinary  as 
the  gigantic  battles  of  larger  wars  and  later  days.  It 
is  not  numbers,  but  strategy,  tactics,  personal  courage, 
and  things  achieved,  by  which  we  judge  the  soldier. 

In  these  operations,  which  certainly  represented  the 
culminating  period  of  his  career,  Washington  displayed 
a  dash  and  daring  like  that  of  Napoleon  in  his  early 
Italian  campaigns,  an  inflexible  capacity  of  resistance 
and  recuperation  which  suggests  the  great  Frederick 
in  his  days  of  adversity,  and  a  determined,  dogged, 
not-to-be-denied  persistence  which  calls  to  mind  the 
indomitable  Grant.  The  fate  of  the  Revolution  was 
determined  right  then  and  there.  More  than  at  any 
other  given  period  of  that  great  conflict,  the  cause  of 
human  liberty  hung  in  the  trembling  balance  on  that 
wild  December  night. 

The  American  army  had  been  consistently  beaten 
since  the  ruinous  battle  of  Long  Island,  six  months  be- 
fore. Their  manoeuvers  had  been  one  long  series  of 
retrograde  movements  in  the  face  of  a  superior  enemy, 
which,  though  conducted  with  great  courage  and  mas- 
terly skill  (any  fool  can  lead  a  charge,  it  takes  a  sol- 
dier to  retreat  without  the  disorganization  and  de- 
struction of  his  army),  had  as  yet  proven  most 
disastrous  to  our  arms.  Post  after  post  had  been  lost, 
and  finally  the  whole  Province  of  New  Jersey  had  been 
abandoned.  The  moral  effect  of  the  continued  retreat 
was  exceedingly  discouraging  to  army  and  nation. 
Washington's  army  had  been  reduced  by  capture,  the 
casualties  of  battle,  desertion,  straggling  and  expira- 
tion of  terms  of  enlistment,  to  a  little  handful  of  less 
than  two  thousand  men,  the  term  of  service  of  the  major 
part  of  whom  expired  with  the  beginning  of  the  year. 

This  little  handful  had  wearily  straggled  across  the 


1 8       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Delaware  River.  Taking  the  precaution,  by  Washing- 
ton's orders,  to  gather  up  and  take  with  them  to  the 
west  bank  of  that  broad  stream  every  boat  for  sixty 
miles  up  and  down  the  river,  they  gained  a  little  respite 
from  the  slow  but  persistent  pursuit  which  had  forced 
them  on.  In  the  absence  of  transportation,  the  ad- 
vance of  the  English  was  temporarily  checked,  and  the 
hunted  Americans  had  time  to  breathe.  That  was  all 
Washington  wanted.  They  were  yet  to  learn,  these 
red-coats,  what  manner  of  man  this  was  whom  they 
were  driving  so  relentlessly  ahead  of  them.  So,  with 
fatal  supineness,  they  made  no  attempt  to  build  boats — 
they  waited.  Delays  in  warfare  and  in  love  are  always 
dangerous  and  the  subsequent  results  proved  the 
maxim. 

The  British  absolutely  despising  their  oft-beaten, 
alway-retreating  enemy,  were  cantoned  in  several  scat- 
tered detachments  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Delaware; 
going  into  winter  quarters  for  the  time  being,  to  wait 
for  the  freezing  of  the  river,  when  it  was  Howe's  in- 
tention to  cross  on  the  ice,  brush  aside  the  last  remnants 
of  armed  resistance  under  Washington,  occupy  Phila- 
delphia, and  end  the  war.  Man  proposes,  but — 
Washington  had  contemplated  the  possibility  of  such 
action  and  had  resolved,  if  unable  to  prevent  it,  to  re- 
treat to  the  mountains  of  Virginia  and  keep  up  a  par- 
tizan  warfare  to  an  end.  This  was  only  a  last  alterna- 
tive, however,  and  he  had  another  plan  in  view. 

The  British  headquarters  and  general  supply  depot 
had  been  located  at  New  Brunswick.  General  Grant 
had  been  left  in  command.  Howe  and  Cornwallis  re- 
turned to  New  York,  and  Cornwallis  made  preparations 
for  a  trip  to  England.  As  soon  as  Washington  dis- 
covered the  separation  of  the  British  army  into  differ- 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign    19 

ent  groups,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  recrossing  the 
river,  assuming  the  offensive,  falling  upon  the  scattered 
detachments,  beating  them  in  detail,  moving  on  for 
New  Brunswick  to  capture  the  supplies  and  clear  the 
country,  and  take  a  position  in  the  hills  about  Morris- 
town,  where  he  could  threaten  New  York  and  protect 
Philadelphia. 

His  attack  on  Trenton  was  no  mere  return  snarl  of 
a  goaded  animal — it  was  part  of  this  brilliant  plan.  He 
had  the  nucleus  for  offensive  action  in  his  own  little 
army,  tried  by  summer's  burning  heat,  by  fire  and 
water,  steel  and  lead,  and  now  to  show  themselves  im- 
pervious to  winter's  biting  cold.  They  had  been  pur- 
sued until  their  spirits  were  absolutely  upon  an  edge, 
and  the  great  American  felt  that  he  had  under  his 
command  an  army  of  baited  lions.  It  is  sometimes  a 
bad  thing  for  the  conquerors  when  they  press  the  con- 
quered up  against  the  wall,  till  the  beaten  face  about 
with  nothing  behind  them  but  destruction  and  nothing 
before  them  but  the  foe.  Men  have  ever  found  the 
last  ditch  an  easy  place  in  which  to  die.  That  was  the 
situation  of  this  patriot  army.  They  literally  had  no 
clothes,  no  blankets,  no  shoes,  no  provisions,  no  any- 
thing but  arms  and  souls,  but  they  were  not  born  to 
die  like  hunted  foxes.  Washington  knew  that  he  could 
depend  upon  them. 

He  decided  to  break  through  the  English  line  at 
Trenton,  where  there  was  a  large  detachment  of  Hes- 
sian troops  commanded  by  Colonel  Rail,  comprising 
three  regiments,  Rail,  Lossburg  and  Anspach,  with 
some  artillery  and  cavalry,  amounting  to  about  sixteen 
hundred  men.  Colonel  Rail  was  a  dashing  soldier  who 
had  distinguished  himself  in  the  storming  of  Fort 
Washington,  and  as  negligent  and  confident  as  he  was 
brave. 


2O       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Washington's  plan  was  that  Putnam,  who  had  been 
appointed  military  governor  of  the  city,  should  send 
out  a  large  force  from  Philadelphia  to  skirmish  and 
engage  the  attention  of  Von  Donop,  who  had  command 
of  a  large  detachment  of  English  and  Germans  at 
Bordentown  and  vicinity.  General  Ewing,  in  the  cen- 
ter, with  a  portion  of  the  militia  of  New  Jersey  and 
Pennsylvania,  which  had  been  called  out  by  the  most 
desperate  appeals,  was  to  cross  two  miles  below  Tren- 
ton at  Bond's  Ferry  to  interpose  between  Von  Donop 
and  Rail,  to  prevent  any  junction  and  to  intercept 
any  fugitives  from  Washington's  attack.  On  the  right, 
Gates  and  Cadwalader,  with  a  larger  body  of  Penn- 
sylvania militia,  was  to  cross  at  Bristol  and  advance 
upon  the  posts  at  Mt.  Holly  and  vicinity ;  Washington, 
on  the  left  with  the  Continental  line,  was  to  cross  above 
the  town,  and  deliver  the  main  attack  in  person.  Thus 
Von  Donop  would  be  kept  off,  Rail  overwhelmed,  and 
the  dash  made  for  New  Brunswick,  after  the  divisions 
had  united.  Before  the  campaign  began.  General 
Charles  Lee,  who  was  as  great  a  traitor  as  Benedict 
Arnold,  without  any  of  Arnold's  redeeming  qualities, 
had  been  captured  by  the  British,  fortunately  for  the 
American  cause,  and  General  Sullivan  had  brought  to 
Washington's  aid  the  remnants  of  the  northern  army. 
This  increased  his  available  force  to  about  twenty-five 
hundred  men. 

The  night  of  Christmas  day,  Wednesday,  December 
25,  1776,  was  chosen  for  the  attempt.  The  surprise 
was  to  take  place  in  the  early  morning  of  the  day  after. 
Washington  counted  upon  the  well  known  convivial 
habits  of  the  Germans  and  the  relaxation  attendant  up- 
on the  Christmas  festivities,  to  facilitate  his  operations. 
The  army  had  been  divided  into  two  divisions.  Gen- 
eral Greene  was  to  command  the  first  division,  Gen- 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign     21 

eral  Sullivan,  the  second.  Washington  was  to  go 
with  the  first.  About  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  his 
own  detachment,  which  he  was  to  lead,  was  paraded 
on  the  Pennsylvania  side  at  McKonkey's  Ferry,  nine 
miles  above  Trenton,  and  immediately  thereafter  the 
passage  of  the  river  began.  It  was  a  clear  moonlight 
night.  There  was  a  light  snow  upon  the  ground  which 
had  fallen  during  the  day,  but  it  was  very  cold  and 
growing  colder  with  each  succeeding  moment. 

The  river,  the  current  of  which  flowed  swiftly  by  the 
place  of  crossing,  where  the  width  of  the  stream  was 
about  twelve  hundred  feet,  was  filled  with  huge  cakes 
of  ice,  which  made  the  attempt  to  pass  it  both  difficult 
and  dangerous.  Large  scows,  bateaux,  and  a  kind  of 
trading  vessels  called  Durham  boats,  sharp-bowed, 
double-ended  affairs,  thirty  or  forty  feet  long,  had  been 
provided ;  and  under  the  skilful  charge  of  Glover's 
regiment  of  Gloucester  and  Marblehead  fishermen,  who 
had  already  done  such  signal  service  in  the  retreat  at 
Long  Island,  the  passage  was  effected.  Washington 
had  hoped  to  begin  his  march  to  Trenton  by  midnight, 
but  it  could  not  be.  It  was  eleven  o'clock  before  the  in- 
fantry had  all  crossed.  The  cold  had  grown  more 
intense  with  every  passing  moment.  The  sky  was  now 
deeply  overcast,  and  a  few  flakes  of  snow  gave  ominous 
presage  of  an  approaching  storm. 

"The  little  army  was  compelled  to  wait  for  five  hours 
on  the  low  bleak  hills,  unsheltered  from  the  tempest  of 
snow  and  sleet  which  raged  with  ever  increasing  fury, 
until  the  artillery  under  the  indefatigable  Knox  could 
get  over,  which  was  not  until  after  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  All  hope  of  an  early  surprise  was  of  neces- 
sity abandoned.  While  they  waited,  two  men  arrived 
with  messages  for  Washington.  The  first  apprised 


22       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

him  that  the  miserable  Gates,  upon  whom  he  had  de- 
pended, had  left  Cadwalader's  detachment,  and  gone 
to  Congress,  which  had  fled  precipitately  to  Baltimore. 
Cadwalader  had  made  desperate  and  heroic  attempts 
to  get  over,  but  that  owing  to  the  ice  which  banked  up 
against  the  shore  at  the  side  of  the  river,  he  had  been 
unable  to  land  a  single  piece  of  artillery  or  horse,  and 
had  therefore  given  over  the  attempt  and  would  be  un- 
able to  cooperate.  The  second  message  was  from 
Ewing  to  the  effect  that  he  had  not  even  attempted  to 
cross  in  view  of  the  conditions.  The  messengers  had 
found  Washington  by  following  the  bloody  footprints 
of  the  barefooted  men  in  the  drifting  snow ! 

Suggestions  were  made  that  they  recross  and  try  it 
again  some  other  time,  but  Washington  had  retreated 
just  as  long  as  he  was  going  to,  and  he  resolved — mo- 
mentous decision  that  it  was — to  push  on  with  his  own 
force  and  after  he  had  done  what  he  could,  recross  and 
then  prepare  to  try  it  again.  The  watchword  given 
by  the  commander  himself  was  'Victory  or  death"  and 
that  represented  his  state  of  mind  perfectly.  It  was 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  they  started  for 
Trenton.  There  were  two  roads  which  led  from  Mc- 
Konkey's  Ferry  to  Trenton,  one  near  the  river,  the 
other  further  inland.  They  strike  the  town  at  different 
ends.  The  lower,  or  river  road,  enters  the  village  of 
Trenton,  which  then  contained  upward  of  a  hundred 
houses,  near  the  stone  bridge,  which  crossed  the  Assun- 
pink  Creek  which  bounds  the  southern  side  of  the 
village.  The  upper,  called  the  Pennington  road,  enters 
the  town  at  the  junction  of  the  two  broad  streets  which 
ran  together  at  a  sharp  angle.  Washington  and  Greene 
took  the  upper  road,  Sullivan,  the  lower. 

What  were  the  thoughts  of  those  men  of  desperate 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign     23 

purpose  as  they  toiled  through  the  drifts  on  those  fro- 
zen roads,  cut  to  pieces  by  the  pitiless  sleet,  torn  by  the 
fierce  wind  which  searched  out  every  rent  in  their 
flimsy,  tattered  garments?  They  were  making  a  way 
for  liberty,  blazing  the  path  of  freedom  with  their  own 
bleeding  feet — marking  the  trail  as  it  has  ever  been 
marked,  by  the  blood  of  man — staggering,  fainting, 
freezing,  pressing  on,  and  the  genius  of  Independence 
walking  by  their  side.  A  via  dolorosa  of  suffering, 
this,  in  that  bitter  Nativity  night,  and  those  who  fol- 
lowed worthy  subjects  of  that  great  Master,  who  ever 
fought  the  battle  of  human  freedom,  even  to  the  awful 
Cross ! 

About  seven  o'clock  a  message  came  up  from  Sulli- 
van on  the  river  road  to  Washington  on  the  inland 
road.  The  snow  had  wet  the  priming  of  their  fire- 
arms, and  they  could  not  be  used.  What  was  to  be 
done?  "Tell  him  to  push  on  with  the  bayonet,"  said 
the  grim  commander,  "the  town  must  be  taken  and  I 
am  resolved  to  take  it."  When  Sullivan's  men  heard 
this  reply  delivered  by  the  officer,  in  their  impetuosity 
they  began  slipping  the  bayonets  over  the  gun-barrels 
without  order,  and  gaily  resumed  the  advance.  It  was 
eight  in  the  morning  when  the  head  of  the  upper  col- 
umn struck  the  Hessian  advance  picket  on  the  Penning- 
ton  road.  All  of  the  men  comprising  the  guard  had 
sought  shelter  in  a  hut  from  the  driving  snow  and  the 
furious  sleet.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  the 
Americans  went  forward  at  a  double-quick;  at  the 
same  time  the  other  column  on  the  river  road  came  in 
contact  with  the  picket  there.  The  sharp  rattle  of  mus- 
ketry broke  the  stillness  of  the  wintry  morning  at 
both  ends  of  the  little  town.  In  the  midst  of  the 
drifting  snow,  the  startled  Hessians  retreated  rapidly 
upon  the  main  guard.  The  Americans  came  forward 


24       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

with  determination  and  soon  all  of  the  advance  parties 
of  the  enemy  were  in  the  full  retreat  toward  the  town. 
There  the  drums  were  beating  the  assembly  wildly, 
and  the  terrified  Hessians  were  running  through  the 
streets  half-dressed  toward  the  rallying  points,  so 
far  as  they  had  been  designated.  Rail,  whose  in- 
dulgences the  previous  day  and  night  had  been  long 
and  deep,  had  awakened  and  hastily  dressed  himself 
and  descended  to  the  street. 

The  whirling  snow  and  sleet  prevented  the  Hessians 
from  discovering  the  force  of  their  opponents  even  at 
this  juncture.  The  alert  Americans  were  soon  extend- 
ing along  the  upper  road  past  the  village  to  encircle  the 
town  from  the  left.  Other  regiments  started  down 
toward  the  river  to  meet  the  advance  of  Sullivan's 
division.  The  artillery  was  massed  at  the  head  of 
King  and  Queen  Streets,  under  Washington's  direction, 
and  a  steady  fire  raked  the  two  main  avenues  of  the 
village.  Several  hasty  and  entirely  ineffective  shots 
were  fired  in  return  by  two  guns  of  the  regiment  Rail 
in  King  Street,  but  before  they  became  dangerous,  they 
were  captured  by  a  spirited  charge  led  by  Captain 
William  Washington  and  Lieutenant  James  Monroe, 
afterward  President  of  the  United  States.  These  offi- 
cers were  both  wounded  before  the  guns  were  taken 
and  turned  upon  the  Hessians.  Meanwhile  Sullivan's 
men  had  seized  the  stone  bridge  over  the  Assunpink 
on  the  right,  routing  the  cavalry  picket;  Stark's  regi- 
ment had  extended  to  the  left,  parallel  to  the  main 
streets,  and  the  other  regiments  were  led  out  beyond  the 
town  to  encircle  it  from  below ;  their  artillery  mean- 
while played  upon  the  huddled  enemy  attempting  to 
escape  through  the  wood,  and  by  a  ford,  to  pass  the 
creek.  The  American  troops  took  cover  behind  fences, 
walls  and  houses,  and  poured  a  withering  fire  upon  the 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign    25 

already  demoralized  Hessians  who  finally  retreated  out- 
side of  the  town  to  an  apple  orchard  on  the  east  where 
they  re-formed.  Under  the  orders  of  Rail  himself, 
they  bravely  attempted  to  retake  the  town,  which  was 
full  of  their  plunder,  and  charged  forward  with  the 
bayonet.  The  Americans  met  this  charge  by  a  volley 
and  countercharge.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  as  the 
Continentals  rushed  forward  determinedly  upon  the 
wavering  Dutchmen,  they  shouted  with  a  grim  humor 
which  savors  marvelously  of  the  present,  the  opening 
words  of  Thomas  Paine's  famous  tract,  written  at  this 
period,  "These  are  the  times  that  try  men's  souls!" 

Certainly  the  words  were  apposite  to  the  Hessians' 
situation.  Rail,  their  commander,  had  fallen  mortally 
wounded,  Von  Dechow,  the  second  in  command,  like- 
wise. Many  other  officers  who  had  gallantly  exposed 
themselves  in  the  attempt  to  rally  and  lead  the  men 
forward  had  been  killed  or  wounded.  Forrest's  bat- 
tery was  pouring  in  a  withering  fire  of  grape.  Greene's 
men  were  pressing  them  from  the  north,  Stark's  from 
the  west,  Sullivan's  from  the  south.  Gun  after  gun 
was  being  brought  up  on  their  flanks  and  in  their  rear. 
The  Assunpink  bridge  and  ford  had  been  secured  after 
several  hundred  had  escaped.  There  was  no  salvation 
for  the  rest.  In  panic  terror  they  lowered  their  flags 
and  threw  down  their  arms.  The  actual  fighting  had 
lasted  about  half  an  hour.  The  battle  was  over. 
"This  is  a  glorious  day  for  our  country,"  said  Wash- 
ington. 

The  killed  and  wounded  of  the  enemy  numbered 
over  one  hundred,  the  captured  nearly  nine  hundred 
and  over  five  hundred  escaped.  One  thousand  stand 
of  arms,  six  field  pieces,  and  a  large  quantity  of  sup- 
plies and  munitions  of  war  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
Americans,  who  had  only  two  killed  and  two  wounded  ! 


26       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

So  far  everything  had  gone  well.  The  failure  of 
the  other  divisions  to  cross,  however,  had  rendered 
Washington's  position,  in  spite  of  his  success,  most  pre- 
carious ;  so  with  a  prudence  as  great  as  his  courage,  he 
at  once  decided  to  cross  to  the  west  bank  of  the  river 
once  more.  Allowing  his  troops  until  the  afternoon 
to  recuperate,  as  the  shades  of  night  advanced  they 
retraced  their  steps,  but  in  what  different  spirits.  They 
had  demonstrated  their  right  to  be.  They  were  an 
army,  their  leader  a  soldier.  No  one  would  ever 
doubt  it  again,  certainly  not  the  British.  That  road 
which  in  the  morning  had  been  the  path  of  freezing 
despair,  was  now  the  way  of  the  conquerors.  Accom- 
panied by  all  of  their  prisoners — and  what  a  contrast 
there  was  between  the  well  fed  and  well  clothed  Hes- 
sians and  their  ragged  captors — they  recrossed  the 
river,  and  occupied  their  old  camps.  Two  of  the  men 
froze  to  death,  and  over  one  thousand  were  prostrated 
by  the  exposure  incident  to  the  fearful  hardships  they 
had  undergone.  More  determined  than  ever,  Washing- 
ton despatched  letters  and  couriers  in  every  direction  to 
assemble  his  forces  and  move  upon  New  Brunswick, 
which  was  still  the  goal  of  his  endeavor. 

" l  The  successful  issue  of  his  daring  adventure  en- 
tailed yet  further  responsibilities,  and  the  campaign 
was  only  just  begun.  As  for  himself,  the  world  now 
knew  him  for  a  soldier.  And  a  withered  old  man  in 
the  palace  of  the  Sans  Souci,  in  Berlin,  who  had  himself 
known  victories  and  defeats,  who  had  himself  stood  at 
bay,  facing  a  world  in  arms  so  successfully  that  men 
called  him  'The  Great,'  called  this  and  the  subsequent 
campaign  the  finest  military  exploit  of  the  age!" 

1  From    the   author's   book  "  For    Love  of  Country,"  by  courtesy  of 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 


=3 


WASHINGTON'S    GREATEST 
CAMPAIGN 


II.  PRINCETON 

THERE  was  mounting  in  hot  haste  on  the  Jersey  side 
of  the  river  when  the  astonishing  news  of  the  fell 
swoop  on  the  Hessians  at  Trenton  was  carried  back  to 
the  negligent  and  over-confident  British  commanders 
in  New  York.  Washington  was  still  to  be  reckoned 
with,  it  appeared,  and  with  an  energy  utterly  foreign  to 
their  previous  movements,  the  various  advanced  posts 
to  the  south  were  abandoned,  the  troops  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  state  were  concentrated  at  New  Brunswick 
and  marched  thence  to  Princeton,  to  which  place  the 
lower  division  had  repaired.  Lord  Cornwallis,  the 
ablest  of  the  British  soldiers  in  America,  was  put  in 
command  with  orders  to  catch  and  crush  the  pestilent 
American  who  never  knew  when  he  was  beaten,  or  who 
refused  to  stay  so  if  he  knew  it — a  harder  task,  this, 
than  either  Howe  or  his  gallant  subordinate  had  ever 
set  themselves  to  accomplish  before,  and  one  they  found 
quite  impossible  after  all.  All  that  they  desired,  how- 
ever, was  an  opportunity  to  get  at  him,  they  thought, 
and  this  opportunity  Washington,  with  his  eyes  still 
fixed  on  the  main  plan,  of  which  the  engagement  at 

27 


28       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Trenton  had  only  been  a  detail,  was  quite  willing  to 
afford  them. 

Fired  by  the  splendid  success  of  the  Continentals, 
the  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  militia  under  Cad- 
walader,  Ewing  and  Mifflin,  at  last  got  across  the  river 
and  established  themselves  in  the  vicinity  of  Burling- 
ton, and  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  December,  Washington 
followed  with  his  staff  and  escort  and  took  up  his 
headquarters  upon  the  scene  of  his  successful  battle. 
It  took  two  days  for  his  victorious  Continental  troops 
to  get  across,  however,  on  account  of  the  heavy  ice  in 
the  river,  but  by  the  evening  of  the  last  day  of  the  year 
they  were  all  assembled  at  Trenton.  It  was  a  fateful 
hour  for  the  Revolution — all  the  hours  of  this  campaign 
were  fateful — and  a  mischance  at  any  time  or  place 
would  have  ended  it.  The  period  of  enlistment  of 
most  of  the  men  expired  that  night;  if  they  left  him, 
Washington  would  find  himself  on  the  morrow  aban- 
doned by  the  veteran  and  heroic  soldiery  who  had 
enabled  him  to  inaugurate  his  great  campaign,  and 
would  be  forced  to  rely  entirely  upon  the  raw  and  un- 
tried militia. 

He  was  equal  to  the  emergency,  however,  for  he  had 
the  men  paraded,  and  rode  along  the  lines,  address- 
ing the  several  regiments  in  the  brief  soldierly  style  in 
which  he  was  a  master,  imploring  them  to  remain  with 
him  until  he  could  complete  his  campaign,  telling  them 
of  the  importance  of  their  action,  firing  their  hearts 
with  his  own  determined  resolution  and  patriotic  de- 
votion, pledging  his  private  fortune — in  which  glori- 
ous example  he  was  followed  by  many  of  his  officers, 
gentlemen  of  condition  and  means — for  their  long  ar- 
rears of  pay,  and  promising  them  a  small  bounty 
besides.  He  was  seconded  in  his  appeal  by  all  of  his 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign     29 

officers,  and  the  results  were  most  happy.  The  men 
unanimously  elected  to  stay  with  him  for  at  least  six 
weeks,  or  until  the  campaign  was  terminated  one  way 
or  the  other.  We,  to-day,  can  scarcely  imagine  what 
this  decision  involved.  It  was  the  "expression  of  wil- 
lingness on  the  part  of  the  naked,  barefoot,  hungry, 
frozen  men,  to  stay  and  fight  against  overwhelming 
odds  through  the  dreary  winter,  when  they  could  have 
gone  back  home  to  a  situation  so  superior  to  their  pres- 
ent condition,  that  it  might  have  been  called  luxury; 
and  the  glory  of  the  men  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  in 
the  glory  of  the  man.  To  that  army  of  patriots  our 
eternal  gratitude,  nay,  the  gratitude  of  all  those  who 
love  and  cherish  and  wrould  fain  fight  for  human  liber- 
ty, is  surely  due. 

Stout  old  Robert  Morris  now  sent  up  to  his  friend 
George  Washington  the  money  he  had  raised  by  going 
from  door  to  door  with  extended  hand  among  his 
friends  in  Philadelphia.  To  such  desperate  straits  had 
they  been  reduced  in  the  field,  that  the  first  instalment  of 
less  than  five  hundred  dollars  had  been  most  gratefully 
received ;  and  when  a  day  or  so  later  he  made  a  further 
glorious  remittance  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  the  faith- 
ful troops,  for  the  first  time  in  many  months,  were  paid 
in  part. 

By  Washington's  orders  there  were  skirmishing  par- 
ties of  horse  and  light  infantry  scattered  all  through 
the  country  between  Trenton  and  Princeton,  where  it 
was  soon  learned  that  Cornwallis  had  assembled  some 
eight  thousand  men  preparatory  to  the  dash  for  Tren- 
ton. Much  valuable  information  was  gathered  and 
some  prisoners  made,  besides  great  annoyance  inflicted 
upon  the  British.  The  English  and  Hessians  had  be- 
haved with  frightful  barbarity  in  their  march  through, 


30       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

and  occupation  of,  the  country ;  there  had  been  murder, 
pillage,  rapine,  and  outraging  of  women,  and  now  the 
enraged  country  people  hung  upon  their  flanks,  aided 
the  American  skirmishers,  and  cut  off  unwary  strag- 
glers without  mercy.  Washington  had  ordered  Cad- 
walader  from  the  Cross  Wicks  and  Mifflin  fromBorden- 
town  to  join  him  at  Trenton.  After  a  hard  night 
march  in  the  bitter  cold,  sleet  and  rain,  over  frightful 
roads,  they  reached  Trenton  on  the  second  day  of  the 
year  about  noon.  These  reinforcements  raised  his  lit- 
tle force  to  a  total  of  about  five  thousand  men,  three- 
fifths  of  them  being  militia  who  had  probably  never 
heard  a  shot  fired  in  anger. 

Cornwallis  leaving  Grant's  brigade,  three  regiments 
of  British,  about  thirteen  hundred  men,  under  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel  Mawhood  at  Princeton,  as  a  reserve  and  to 
protect  his  rear,  advanced  early  on  the  morning  of 
January  2,  1777,  in  great  haste  toward  Trenton. 
All  day  long  he  was  compelled  to  fight  his  way  for- 
ward against  a  heavy  skirmishing  fire  from  the 
riflemen  under  Greene,  who  took  advantage  of  their  op- 
portunity to  pour  a  galling  fire  upon  the  regular  troops. 
Washington  needed  one  more  day  to  assemble  and  unite 
his  force,  and  Greene  agreed  to  give  it  to  him.  The 
delay  gave  Washington  time  to  withdraw  his  army 
across  the  Assunpink,  swollen  with  the  winter  rains, 
and  post  them  on  the  high  ground  south  of  it  in  a 
strong  and  advantageous  position,  for  two  miles  along 
the  bank.  The  artillery  was  massed  at  the  famous 
stone  bridge. 

In  the  gray  of  the  evening,  the  van  of  Cornwallis' 
wearied  troops,  the  American  riflemen  having  been 
cleared  out  of  the  northern  sideof  the  creek,  after  severe 
fighting  and  heavy  loss  on  the  part  of  the  British,  ad- 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign    31 

vanced  to  take  Washington's  position.  Three  separate 
charges  were  made  upon  the  bridge,  and  were  repulsed 
with  loss.  But  the  British  subordinate  commanders 
urged  Cornwallis  to  push  the  attack  and  end  the  matter 
then  and  there.  The  creek  was  fordable  in  half  a  dozen 
places,  and  all  that  would  be  necessary  would  be  to 
make  a  simultaneous  attack  upon  the  bridge  and  the 
fords  with  their  superior  forces,  place  themselves  upon 
the  other  bank,  turn  the  flank  of  the  rebel  army,  drive 
Washington  into  the  cut  de  sac  formed  by  the  creek  and 
the  river  and  hammer  him  to  pieces  at  leisure  and  at 
pleasure. 

The  British  were  tired  out,  however;  they  had 
marched  and  fought  in  the  mud  all  day;  there  was  no 
escape  for  the  "old  fox"  now ;  they  had  him  cornered  at 
last  and  there  was  no  need  for  hurry — so  they  reasoned. 
Cornwallis  resolved  to  wait  until  morning.  This  is 
where  he  made  the  mistake  of  his  life.  Washington 
was  as  keenly  appreciative  of  the  exigencies  of  the  situ- 
ation of  his  army  as  Cornwallis  and  his  officers.  He 
had  no  mind  to  be  caught  in  that  trap,  he  had  not  put 
himself  in  that  position  for  nothing,  and  his  plan  for 
extricating  himself  had  been  already  matured.  He 
would  try  an  offensive  defense.  As  the  night  fell  and 
the  British  went  into  camp,  he  caused  tremendous  fires 
to  be  built  all  along  his  lines  next  to  the  river  bank, 
which  were  to  be  continuously  fed  by  a  small  body  of 
men  detailed  for  the  purpose,  who  were  to  act  as  sen- 
tries and  to  move  about,  make  a  great  deal  of  noise  and 
expose  themselves  as  much  as  possible  with  safety,  to 
convey  the  idea  that  they  were  in  great  force  and  very 
actively  preparing  for  the  morrow.  The  rest  of  the 
army  muffled  the  wheels  of  the  guns,  and  sent  the 
heavier  baggage  down  toward  Philadelphia,  where 


32       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Putnam  had  sent  a  detachment  to  meet  and  protect  it, 
and  then  about  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  in  little  detach- 
ments in  rapid  succession,  they  silently  stole  away. 
Whispering  their  orders,  making  no  sound,  giving  no 
alarm,  they  followed  a  long  roundabout  road  called  the 
Quaker  road  which  passed  through  the  village  of 
Sand  Town,  and  for  several  miles  led  away  from  the 
river  toward  the  southeast  before  it  made  an  abrupt 
turn  to  the  north.  The  weather  had  changed,  the  wind 
came  from  the  north  and  the  wet,  muddy,  impassable 
roads  froze  as  hard  as  iron;  it  grew  bitter  cold  once 
more,  as  it  had  before  the  attack  on  Trenton.  They 
crept  cautiously  around  the  left  flank  of  Cornwallis' 
sleeping  army,  and  headed  for  Princeton,  to  that  goal 
for  which  the  indomitable  American  had  been  making 
since  Christmas  day — the  stores  at  New  Brunswick.  To 
extricate  an  army  safely  from  a  desperate  situation 
has  ever  been  accounted  a  work  of  great  generalship; 
no  army  was  ever  moved  more  quickly,  dexterously  and 
ably  than  this  one.  The  British  never  dreamed  they 
had  gone  until  morning. 

It  was  another  desperate  march  over  the  badly 
cleared,  stump  encumbered  roads.  When  the  morning 
came,  clear,  very  cold,  the  ground  covered  with  hoar 
frost,  the  advance  under  General  Mercer  reached  the 
lower  bridge  over  Stony  Brook  Creek  and,  crossing  the 
bridge,  went  up  the  river  bank  toward  another  bridge 
which  crosses  it  on  the  direct  road  to  Trenton,  which 
they  had  intended  to  hold  as  long  as  possible  and  then 
destroy,  to  check  the  advance  of  Cornwallis ;  while  the 
rest  of  the  army  under  Washington  continued  by  an- 
other road  through  the  trees  and,  sheltered  by  the 
hills,  on  toward  the  College  and  village  of  Princeton. 
A  part  of  the  British  detachment  at  Princeton  had 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign    33 

crossed  the  Stony  Brook  bridge  already  on  the  march  to 
join  Cornwallis,  when  this  advance  regiment,  the  seven- 
teenth under  Mawhood  in  person,  caught  sight  of 
Mercer's  men,  the  sunlight  gleaming  on  the  gun-barrels 
through  the  trees  betraying  them.  The  English  re- 
traced their  steps  and  recrossed  the  bridge  at  once. 

To  deploy  on  both  sides  was  the  work  of  a  few  mo- 
ments. There  was  a  little  rise  of  ground  off  to  the 
right  which  would  make  a  strong  defensive  position. 
Both  parties  rushed  headlong  for  it  immediately.  The 
Americans  were  the  quicker  and  lined  up  on  it  pouring 
a  heavy  fire  into  the  advancing  British,  which  did  great 
execution.  The  red-coats  were  most  gallantly  led, 
however,  and  proved  themselves  soldiers  of  the  highest 
class.  In  spite  of  the  withering  rifle  fire,  they  poured 
in  a  return  volley  and  covered  by  the  smoke,  they  des- 
perately charged  the  American  position  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet.  General  Mercer  on  a  white  horse  was  in 
front  of  his  men,  by  his  side  Colonel  Haslet  of  the 
Delaware  regiment  was  standing  dismounted.  The 
first  volley  killed  Mercer's  horse. throwing  him  heavily; 
he  rose  to  his  feet  at  once,  however,  to  encourage  his 
men.  The  same  volley  sent  a  bullet  crashing  into  Has- 
let's brain.  Many  others  were  killed  and  wounded. 
The  Continentals  were  thrown  into  some  confusion  by 
this  fierce  discharge,  delivered  scarcely  a  hundred  feet 
away,  and  as  this  brigade  was  most  unfortunately  un- 
provided with  bayonets,  they  resisted  stubbornly  for  a 
few  minutes  with  clubbed  muskets,  and  then  gave  way, 
retreating  back  toward  the  main  body  on  the  lower 
road. 

Mercer,  sword  in  hand,  threw  himself  before  the 
fugitives,  rallied  a  few  of  his  officers  and  men  and 
fiercely  attacked  the  oncoming  British.  He  was  beat- 


34       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

en  to  the  ground,  called  a  rebel,  asked  to  surrender, 
and  when  he  answered  in  indignation  with  a  sword  cut, 
was  thrust  through  and  through  with  the  bayonets, 
and  left  for  dead  on  the  field.  He  died  a  few  days 
after  the  battle  in  great  agony,  leaving  behind  him  a 
stainless  and  honored  name. 

At  this  juncture,  when  the  British  were  sweeping 
everything  before  them,  the  Pennsylvania  militia 
dashed  out  of  the  wood.  They  had  been  sent  up  on 
the  double-quick  to  the  rescue  by  Washington,  who  had 
heard  the  noise  of  the  conflict.  Undaunted  by  this  new 
enemy,  the  British,  with  admirable  precision,  which  won 
Washington's  admiration  and  commendation,  faced 
quickly  about  and  began  to  move  forward  to  apply  the 
deadly  cold  steel  again,  and  to  try  to  take  Moulder's 
Philadelphia  battery.  The  militia  hastily  returned  the 
fire  of  the  enemy,  but  as  the  smoke  blew  away,  they  saw 
that  the  British  were  unchecked,  and  as  the  red-coats 
came  fiercely  on,  the  American  line  began  to  waver. 
They  had  never  been  in  action  before,  and  a  hand  to 
hand  conflict  was  more  than  they  bargained  for;  only 
a  veteran  could  meet  the  British  bayonet  after  all.  An 
incipient  panic  was  there.  One  more  moment  and  they 
too  had  been  in  retreat,  but  the  hour  brought  the  man. 

Attended  by  one  or  two  staff  officers,  Washington 
galloped  recklessly  on  the  field ;  one  glance  put  him  in 
possession  of  the  situation.  The  Americans  were  be- 
ing routed ;  he  could  not  fight  a  long  drawn  out  battle 
here;  whatever  was  to  be  done  must  be  done  at  once. 
Cornwallis  had  already  heard  the  roar  of  the  guns  at 
Trenton,  and  awaking  to  find  himself  outgeneraled 
at  once  discovered  Washington's  escape,  and  had 
pushed  his  army  forward  at  the  double-quick.  If  the 
British  could  hold  the  Americans  in  play  for  a  short 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign    35 

space  of  time,  the  veterans  of  Cornwallis  would  be  upon 
them.  Without  a  second's  hesitation,  Washington 
rode  by  Mercer's  shattered  brigade  and  called  upon 
them  to  advance,  and  then  dashed  down  the  wavering 
Pennsylvania  line,  turning  his  horse  as  he  came  before 
the  main  body  of  the  advancing  British,  and  by  the 
very  force  of  his  splendid  personality  led  the  erstwhile 
hesitating  militia  down  upon  their  enemies  in  a  surpris- 
ing charge,  both  parties  firing  before  they  met.  There 
was  a  sharp  hand  to  hand  struggle,  with  Washington  in 
the  midst  of  it.  At  the  same  moment,  the  other  regi- 
ments of  the  Americans  came  up  and  took  up  a  position 
on  the  flank  of  the  British,  and  poured  into  them  a 
deadly  fire.  Moulder's  Philadelphia  battery  raked  the 
valley  with  grape.  Washington  was  in  the  thick  of  it 
all.  He  was  lost  sight  of  by  his  aides  in  the  smoke  for 
the  moment,  and  when  it  cleared  away  he  was  discov- 
ered mad  with  the  excitement  of  the  battle  leading  on 
the  men.  A  born  fighter,  he !  He  bore  a  charmed  life, 
for  amid  the  hail  of  bullets,  not  one  had  touched  him. 
The  British  now  were  in  full  retreat;  a  few  broke 
away  and  ran  toward  Trenton,  but  the  greater  part 
made  for  Princeton.  Washington  pressed  his  advan- 
tage to  the  fullest  limit.  The  Americans  were  sent 
forward  to  attack  the  other  two  British  regiments  com- 
ing to  the  rescue.  They  dashed  at  them  before  they 
had  time  to  form  and  irresistibly  overwhelmed  them, 
capturing  large  numbers  and  utterly  putting  the  rest  to 
flight  in  a  wild  rout.  Some  of  them,  to  the  number  of 
about  two  hundred,  took  refuge  in  Nassau  Hall,  the 
college  building,  whence  they  were  at  once  dislodged 
and  captured.  After  following  the  thoroughly  terror- 
ised British  who  had  escaped,  for  a  short  time,  Wash- 
ington, having  no  cavalry,  gave  over  the  pursuit. 


36       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

The  British  lost  about  five  hundred,  including  killed, 
wounded  and  captured,  no  less  than  one  hundred  be- 
ing left  dead  upon  the  field,  which  shows  the  fierceness 
of  the  hand  to  hand  fighting;  the  total  American  loss 
was  about  one  hundred,  including  many  valuable  offi- 
cers. The  three  British  regiments  had  been  utterly 
defeated  and  turned  into  a  disorganized  mob ;  their  re- 
treat was  a  pell-mell  rout. 

But  now  when  the  goal  of  his  endeavor — the  stores, 
material  and  treasure  at  New  Brunswick — was  almost 
within  his  grasp,  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  it. 
Suffering  humanity  absolutely  could  do  no  more.  The 
troops  were  completely  exhausted  by  their  fight  of  the 
day  before,  their  night  march,  their  desperate  battle, 
their  long  fast  and  the  intense  cold.  For  more  than 
thirty  hours  they  had  been  in  action  or  on  the  march ; 
most  of  them  had  received  nothing  to  eat.  "If  I  could 
have  had  eight  hundred  fresh  troops  I  could  have  done 
it,"  said  Washington.  Alas,  there  were  no  fresh 
troops  to  be  had.  They  fell  out  of  the  ranks  asleep 
whenever  they  halted.  Even  these  iron  men  must  have 
rest.  Within  reaching  distance,  these  untoward  cir- 
cumstances compelled  him  to  refrain  from  New  Bruns- 
wick. Reluctantly  Washington  headed  his  men  to- 
ward the  heights  of  Morristown. 

The  British  army  under  Cornwallis  had  been  moved 
with  incredible  celerity.  A  little  party  of  Americans 
with  a  heavy  field  piece  delayed  the  advance  somewhat, 
a  broken  bridge  delayed  it  still  further,  and  though  the 
British,  unable  to  repair  it,  had  waded  breast-high 
through  the  icy  stream  in  their  endeavors  to  catch 
him,  Washington  effected  his  escape.  Cornwallis,  in 
alarm  for  his  stores,  pushed  on  to  New  Brunswick  to 
save  them,  and  battle  and  campaign  were  over. 


Washington's  Greatest  Campaign    37 

The  Revolution  was  saved.  Washington,  with  his 
weak,  inferior  army,  had  so  manceuvered  that  he  had,  in 
spite  of  his  disadvantages,  twice  struck  the  enemy  with 
superior  force  at  the  point  of  contact,  and  routed  him. 
His  movements  were  an  early  illustration  of  the  modern 
phrasing  of  an  old  maxim,  to  the  effect  that  the  art  of 
war  consists  in  "getting  there  first  with  the  most  men !" 
In  addition  to  his  soldierly  ability  he  had  shown  his 
capacity  as  a  statesman.  His  enterprise  was  underta- 
ken at  that  precise  moment  when  victory  was  vital  to 
the  success  of  the  struggle,  not  merely  from  a  military 
standpoint,  but  in  order  to  maintain  the  drooping 
spirits  of  the  nation  then  "borning,"and  to  demonstrate 
to  the  world  that  the  birth  was  not  to  be  a  still  one. 
There  never  was  any  doubt  of  the  ultimate  success  of 
the  Revolution  after  that,  and  it  was  settled  right  then 
and  there. 

"  J  To  complete  this  brief  resume  of  one  of  the  re- 
markable campaigns  of  history,  Washington  strongly 
fortified  himself  on  Cornwallis's  flank  at  Morristown, 
menacing  each  of  the  three  depots  held  by  the  British 
outside  New  York;  Putnam  advanced  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Trenton,  with  the  militia;  and  Heath  moved 
down  to  the  highlands  of  the  Hudson.  The  country 
people  of  New  Jersey  rose  and  cut  off  scattered  detach- 
ments of  the  British  in  every  direction,  until  the  whole 
of  the  field  was  eventually  abandoned  by  them,  except 
Amboy,  Newark  and  New  Brunswick.  The  world  wit- 
nessed the  singular  spectacle  of  a  large,  well-appointed 
army  of  veteran  soldiery,  under  able  leaders,  shut  up  in 
practically  one  spot,  New  York  and  a  few  near-by  vil- 
lages, and  held  there  inexorably  by  a  phantom  army 

1  Taken  from  the  author's  novel  "  For  Love  of  Country,"  by  the  cour- 
tesy of  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 


38       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

which  was  never  more  than  half  the  size  of  that  it  held 
in  check. 

"The  results  of  the  six  months'  campaign  were  to 
be  seen  in  the  possession  of  the  city  of  New  York  by 
the  British  army.  That  army  which  had  .won,  except 
the  last  two,  all  the  battles  in  which  it  had  engaged, 
which  had  followed  the  Americans  through  six  months 
of  disastrous  defeat  and  retreat,  and  had  overrun  two 
colonies,  now  had  nothing  to  show  for  all  its  efforts 
but  the  ground  upon  which  it  stood.  And  this  was  the 
result  of  the  genius,  the  courage,  the  audacity  of  one 
man — George  Washington.  The  world  was  astound- 
ed, and  he  took  an  assured  place  thenceforward  among 
the  first  soldiers  of  that  or  any  age. 

"Even  the  English  themselves  could  not  withhold 
their  admiration.  The  gallant  and  brave  Cornwallis, 
a  soldier  of  no  mean  ability  himself,  and  well  able  to 
estimate  what  could  be  done  with  a  small  and  feeble 
force,  never  forgot  his  surprise  at  the  Assunpink ;  and 
when  he  congratulated  Washington,  at  the  surrender 
of  Yorktown  years  after,  upon  the  brilliant  combina- 
tion which  had  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the  army,  he 
added  these  words :  'But,  after  all,  your  excellency's 
achievements  in  the  Jerseys  were  such  that  nothing 
could  surpass  them!' 

"And  the  witty  and  wise  old  cynic,  Mr.  Horace  Wai- 
pole,  with  his  usual  discrimination,  wrote  to  a  friend, 
Sir  Horace  Mann,  when  he  heard  of  the  affair  at  Tren- 
ton, the  night  march  to  Princeton,  and  the  successful 
attack  there :  'Washington,  the  dictator,  has  shown 
himself  both  a  Fabius  and  a  Camillus.  His  march 
through  our  lines  is  allowed  to  have  been  a  prodigy  of 
generalship.'  ' 


PAUL  JONES'  GREATEST 
BATTLE. 


ON  the  evening  of  Thursday,  September  30,  1779,  a 
rather  small,  brown  faced,  dark  haired  man,  about  thir- 
ty-two years  of  age,  and  of  a  melancholy,  poetic  and 
even  scholarly  cast  of  countenance,  clad  in  a  blue  naval 
uniform,  stood  on  the  weather-side  of  the  high  poop 
deck  of  a  large  war-ship,  looking  keenly  about  him  with 
his  bright,  brilliant  black  eyes.  Sometimes  his  glance 
fell  meditatively  upon  two  gallant  white  ships  under 
full  sail,  men-of-war  evidently,  which  were  slowly 
crossing  his  course  at  a  right  angle  a  mile  or  two  ahead 
of  him,  and  making  in  toward  the  not  distant  land  the 
while.  Anon,  with  thoughtful  vision,  he  surveyed  the 
crowded  decks  before  and  beneath  him ;  the  rude,  mot- 
ley men,  half -naked  and  armed  with  cutlass  or  pike 
and  pistol,  who  were  grouped  about  the  grim  great 
guns  protruding  menacingly  through  the  open  ports; 
the  old  gun  captains  squinting  along  the  breech  and 
blowing  their  smoking  matches  while  looking  to  the 
priming  of  the  guns ;  the  little  groups  of  pig-tailed  vet- 
erans, sail  trimmers,  assembled  about  the  masts;  the 
brilliantly  uniformed  soldiers,  or  marines,  in  the  scarlet 
and  white  of  France ;  the  agile  topmen  hanging  in  great 
human  clusters  over  the  broad  tops  above  his  head. 

39 


40       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Sometimes  he  turned  about  and  swept  the  sea  behind 
him  with  his  eager  gaze,  frowning  in  high  displeasure 
at  what  he  saw. 

The  soft  light  of  the  setting  sun  streamed  over  the 
larboard  quarter,  and  threw  into  high  relief  the  lonely 
officer  on  the  weather-side  of  the  ship.  Seamanship 
spoke  in  the  careless  yet  confident  poise  of  the  well-knit 
muscular  figure,  as  he  unconsciously  balanced  himself 
and  easily  met  the  roll  of  the  ship  in  the  sea ;  intelligence 
and  kindness  sparkled  in  his  eyes ;  power  and  force 
were  instinct  in  every  line  of  his  aggressive  person; 
and  determination  evidenced  itself  in  the  compressed 
lip,  the  firm,  resolute  mouth,  and  the  tightly  closed  hand 
which  hung  easily  by 'his  side.  The  gentle  breeze  of 
the  evening  tenderly  and  softly  fell  on  the  worn  sails 
of  the  ancient  ship,  swelling  the  soiled  and  weather- 
beaten  cloths  of  canvas  out  in  graceful,  tremulous 
curves  as  if  in  caress,  as  she  swept  slowly  towrard  the 
enemy.  The  ripple  of  the  waves  clinging  about  her 
cut-water  alone  broke  the  silence.  The  scene  was  as 
peaceful  and  as  quiet  as  if  the  loud  calling  of  the  drum 
which  had  so  lately  re-echoed  along  the  decks  had  been 
an  invitation  to  church  service,  instead  of  a  stern  sum- 
mons to  quarters  for  action.  A  faint  smell  of  balm 
and  spicery  which  clung  about  the  ship,  a  reminder  of 
her  distant  voyages  in  Eastern  seas,  was  like  incense  to 
the  soul. 

Off  toward  the  side  of  the  sinking  sun  rose  the  bold 
shore  of  England.  Flamborough  headland,  crowned 
by  a  lofty  tower  already  sending  a  broad  beam  of 
warning  light  to  voyaging  mariners  out  over  the 
waters,  thrust  out  a  salient  wedge  of  massive  rock- 
bound  coast  in  rude,  wave  piercing  angle  through  the 
tossing  sea.  To  the  east  the  full  moon,  already  some 


Paul  Jones'  Greatest  Battle         41 

hours  high,  shot  the  soft  silver  of  her  rays,  mingled 
with  the  fading  gold  of  the  dying  day,  over  the  pallid 
ocean.  At  this  moment  the  mellow  tones  of  the  ship's 
bell  forward  striking  three  couplets  in  quick  succession 
awakened  the  commander  from  the  reveries  in  which 
he  had  been  indulging,  and  he  turned  to  find  his  first 
lieutenant  mounting  the  poop  deck  ladder  to  report 
the  ship  clear  for  action.  The  dark  expressive  eye  of 
the  captain  lingered  affectionately  upon  the  form  of  the 
lithe,  bright-eyed,  honest  and  able  young  subordinate 
who  had  yet  to  see  his  twenty- fourth  birthday.  Be- 
tween the  two  officers  subsisted  the  fullest  confidence 
and  the  deepest  affection. 

Who  was  the  lonely  captain?  The  greatest  novelist 
4of  England  calls  him  a  traitor.  One  of  the  most  prom- 
inent naval  authorities  of  to-day,  from  the  same  proud 
nation,  describes  him  as  a  blackguard.  Popular  feel- 
ing among  his  contemporary  enemies  considered  him  as 
neither  more  nor  less  than  a  bloodthirsty,  murdering 
pirate.  The  captain  of  the  ship  which  he  was  about  to 
conquer  is  reputed  to  have  most  ungraciously  expressed 
his  regret  at  having  been  compelled  "to  surrender  to 
a  man  who  fought  with  a  halter  around  his  neck."  But 
the  people  who  made  and  loved  the  flag,  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  which  fluttered  above  his  head,  and  gave  it  a 
high  place  in  the  glorious  blazonry  of  nations,  told  a 
different  tale.  The  admiration  of  Washington,  the  in- 
corruptible soldier  and  leader ;  the  beloved  of  Franklin, 
the  discerning  statesman  and  philosopher;  the  friend 
of  Robert  Morris,  the  brilliant  financier  and  patriot; 
John  Paul  Jones,  the  son  of  a  poor  Scotch  gardener, 
who  had  left  his  native  land  in  infancy,  and  who  had 
been  brought  up  with  the  scanty  advantages  afforded 
by  life  from  childhood  passed  upon  the  sea,  rose, against 


42       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

every  sort  of  discouragement  by  sheer  merit  alone,  to 
be  the  greatest  figure  in  the  naval  history  of  his  adopted 
country  for  nearly  a  hundred  years. 

By  his  indefatigable  resolution  and  unsurpassable 
valor,  his  wonderful  technical  skill  and  fascinating  per- 
sonality, he  became  a  Chevalier  of  France,  an  Admiral 
of  Russia,  the  friend  at  once  of  two  queens,  one  the 
most  beautiful  and  unfortunate,  the  other  the  greatest 
and  most  splendid,  of  his  age.  He  was  an  honored 
associate  of  the  king  of  a  great  country,  and  yet  never 
renounced  that  which  he  considered  his  proudest  title 
to  honor,  and  by  which  in  that  final  end  of  things  in 
which  the  truth  that  is  in  a  man  speaks  out,  he  loved 
to  describe  himself,  "a  citizen  of  the  United  States." 

This  was  a  man  who  had  been  an  apprentice  boy  at 
twelve,  a  sea  officer  at  fifteen,  a  captain  at  twenty-one ; 
who,  in  a  slight  inconsiderable  vessel,  a  small  war-brig, 
had  rendered  most  notable  service  to  his  chosen  country 
in  the  face  of  war  vessels  of  overwhelming  force ;  who, 
in  a  crank  lightly  built  sloop-of-war,  the  Ranger,  a  year 
ago,  had  swept  the  Irish  Channel,  terrified  the  whole 
western  seaboard  of  England,  captured  in  fair  fight  a 
regularly  commissioned  English  sloop-of-war  of  equal 
force  with  and  more  heavily  manned  than  his  own ;  and 
all  this  with  a  crew  of  mutineers,  refusing  to  obey  his 
orders  and  even  threatening  his  life  at  the  last  moment 
before  the  action. 

His  hands  had  hoisted  the  first  American  flag  that 
ever  fluttered  from  a  masthead,  the  pine  tree  rattle- 
snake flag,  with  its  motto  "Don't  tread  on  me,"  which 
seems  somehow  significant  of  the  man  himself;  the 
same  hand  later  on  had  thrown  to  the  breeze  the  first 
banner  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes  that  was  ever  seen  upon 
the  ocean;  his  address  and  resolution  had  elicited,  in 


Paul  Jones'  Greatest  Battle          43 

the  way  of  a  naval  salute,  the  first  official  and  public 
recognition  of  the  new  figure  among  the  nations  of  the 
world  from  the  authorized  representative  of  a  recog- 
nized government.  As  a  fighter,  as  a  lover,  as  a  dip- 
lomat, he  was  among  the  first  men  of  his  time.  He 
loved  glory  and  fame  and  duty  with  a  passionate  devo- 
tion, and  as  he  stated,  "ever  looked  out  for  the  Honor 
of  the  American  flag."  He  was  afterward  thanked  by 
Congress,  made  the  head  of  the  American  Navy,  and 
especially  commended  in  a  public  letter  to  the  King  of 
France,  his  friend,  an  unique  honor  in  our  history. 
Before  he  died  he  had  participated  in  "twenty-three 
battles  and  solemn  rencontres  by  sea." 

A  pirate,  a  traitor,  a  blackguard,  this?  Nay,  as  true 
a  man  as  ever  fought  for  human  freedom,  as  brave  an 
officer  as  ever  overcame  heart-breaking  adversity,  as 
gallant  a  sailor  as  ever  trod  a  heaving  deck,  and  as 
sweet  a  lover  as  ever  kissed  a  lady's  hand.  In  the  hun- 
dreds of  letters  written  by  and  to  him  still  extant,  many 
of  them  on  affaires  du  cceur,  there  is  not  a  single  coarse 
or  rude  expression  to  be  found.  I  sum  him  up  the  hero 
and  the  gentleman.  Not  without  his  faults,  of  course, 
which  I  cheerfully  refrain  from  cataloguing — always 
a  poor  business — but  they  were  not  great  and  were 
easily  counterbalanced  by  his  many  virtues. 

Look  at  him  now  as  he  approaches  the  culmination 
of  his  career.  After  his  brilliant  cruise  in  the  Ranger, 
unable  to  obtain  a  decent  war  vessel,  forced  to  put  up 
with  a  nondescript  antique,  a  worn  out  East  Indiaman, 
the  Due  de  Duras,  now  renamed  the  Bonhomme  Rich- 
ard, which  had  been  filled  with  old  and  makeshift  guns ; 
a  ship  so  rotten  that  it  was  impossible  to  make  the  nec- 
essary alterations  to  properly  fit  her  for  her  new  ser- 
vice. Attended  by  a  squadron  under  his  nominal 


44       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

mand,  one  of  the  ships  of  which,  and  the  best  one,  was 
manned  largely  by  British  seamen,  and  commanded  by 
an  insane  coward;  at  this  very  moment  previous  acts 
of  mutiny  were  culminating  in  a  flagrant  disobedience 
of  orders  to  follow  the  Richard  into  the  action.  The 
Alliance,  fighting  shy  of  the  English  warships,  was 
sweeping  toward  the  frightened  convoy  huddling  off 
for  shelter  under  the  lee  of  Scarborough  Castle.  An- 
other vessel,  the  Vengeance,  French  in  toto,  was  fleeing 
with  all  speed  from  the  action,  and  the  third,  the  Pallas, 
another  Frenchman,  the  only  thing  American  about  her 
being  the  flag  flying  above  her,  hung  quivering  in  the 
wind  in  frightful  indecision  as  to  whether  she  should 
engage  the  weaker  of  the  two  English  ships  before 
them. 

At  this  moment  the  total  crew  on  the  Bonhomme 
Richard  (so  called  from  the  nom  de  plume  of  Benja- 
min Franklin)  was  about  three  hundred,  of  which  only 
one  fourth  were  Americans,  about  one  half  French  sol- 
diers, and  the  balance  the  riff-raff  of  all  nations,  Por- 
tuguese preponderating;  among  their  number  being 
some  Malays,  perhaps  Filipinos,  thus  early  fighting 
for  freedom.  Two  hundred  desperate  English  prison- 
ers were  confined  below  in  the  hold.  Beside  the  cap- 
tain, not  a  single  deck  officer  was  left,  through  a 
series  of  mishaps,  save  Richard  Dale,  the  first  lieuten- 
ant, than  whom  no  man  ever  was  a  better,  by  the 
way.  Commodore  Dale,  who  has  been  justly  honored 
subsequently  in  the  United  States  Navy,  loved  and 
venerated  Jones  above  all  other  men,  always  speaking 
of  him  to  the  last  day  of  his  life  with  his  eyes  filled 
with 'tears  of  affection  and  regret  as  "Paul,"  which  was 
his  captain's  birth  name.  Why  John  Paul  assumed 
the  name  Jones  has  never  been  discovered;  cer- 


Paul  Jones'  Greatest  Battle          45 

tainly  for  no  disgraceful  reason,  for  whatever  name 
he  might  have  taken  he  would  have  honored. 

The  armament  of  the  Richard  consisted  of  twenty- 
eight  twelve  pounders  on  the  gun  deck ;  on  the  quarter 
deck  and  forecastle  were  eight  nine  pounders.  In  des- 
peration, Jones  had  cut  three  ports  on  each  side  on  the 
berth  deck  below  the  main  battery  and  mounted  six  old 
condemned  eighteen  pounders  therein.  His  ship  had 
in  all,  therefore,  forty-two  guns,  twenty-one  in  the 
broadside,  discharging  a  total  weight  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty-eight  pounds  of  shot.  The  larger  ship  of  the 
enemy  was  the  brand  new  double-banked  frigate  Sera- 
pis,  mounting  three  tiers  of  guns  on  two  covered  and 
one  uncovered  deck;  twenty  eighteens,  twenty  nines, 
and  ten  six  pounders,  making  a  total  of  fifty  guns, 
twenty-five  in  broadside,  throwing  three  hundred 
pounds.  As  a  further  advantage  the  destructive  power 
of  an  eighteen  pound  gun  is  immensely  greater  than 
that  of  a  twelve.  The  crew  of  the  Serapis  was  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  trained  and  disciplined  men. 
Her  captain,  Pearson,  was  a  brave  and  determined 
sailor  of  reputation  in  the  service. 

There  appeared  to  be  no  uncertainty  in  the  mind  of 
either  commanding  officer  as  to  the  character  and  force 
of  his  opponent.  Pearson  confidently  expected  an  easy 
victory,  which  he  certainly  should  have  won,  and 
Paul  Jones  determined  to  make  him  fight  as  no  English 
ship  had  ever  fought  before,  for  all  he  got.  About 
half  after  seven  in  the  evening  the  two  ships  drew  with- 
in gunshot  distance  of  each  other,  the  Richard  rounding 
to  off  the  port  bow  of  the  Serapis.  The  thirty-two- 
gun  ship  Pallas  at  last  gathered  sufficient  resolution 
to  engage  the  Scarborough,  a  twenty-gun  sloop,  and 
thus  eliminated  her  from  Paul  Jones'  calculations. 


46       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

The  Vengeance  had  fled,  and  Captain  Landais,  in  the 
Alliance,  was  hovering  after  the  convoy  out  of  range. 

For  some  reason,  as  the  Richard  approached,  Cap- 
tain Pearson  withheld  his  fire  and  hailed.  The  answer, 
which  was  indistinguishable,  was  followed  by  a  shot 
from  the  Richard,  and  the  two  ships  immediately 
exchanged  terrific  broadsides.  Of  the  three  eighteen 
pounders  down  on  the  berth  deck  near  the  water-line 
of  the  Richard,  two  burst  at  the  first  discharge,  killing 
and  wounding  a  large  part  of  their  crews,  and  blowing 
up  a  part  of  the  deck.  The  other  gun  was  of  course 
abandoned.  Side  by  side  in  the  bright  moonlight  of 
the  autumn  night,  the  two  ships  slowly  sailed  together 
for  nearly  an  hour.  The  roar  of  one  discharge  an- 
swered the  other,  cheer  met  cheer,  as  the  iron  hailed 
bullets  wove  a  hideous  net  of  death  about  the  two  ships. 

Fearful  that  he  might  be  raked  astern  by  the  Serapis 
(which  some  accounts  say  was  done),  Jones,  who  had 
kept  slightly  in  the  lead,  finally  threw  his  ship  aback, 
checking  her  onward  motion  so  that  the  Serapis  passed 
slowly  ahead  of  him.  As  Pearson  drew  ahead,  Jones 
attempted  to  throw  his  vessel  across  the  rear  of  the 
English  ship  to  rake  and  board,  which  of  course  would 
be  his  best  plan,  as  in  that  case  he  could  make  good  use 
of  the  soldiers  on  his 'decks.  The  attempt  was  a  fail- 
ure on  account  of  the  sluggish  motion  of  the  unwieldy 
Richard,  which  only  swung  in  aft  of,  and  in  line  with, 
the  Englishman.  No  guns  now  bearing  on  either  ship, 
except  for  the  continuous  small-arm  fire  there  was  a 
slight  lull  in  the  action.  As  soon  as  the  Serapis,  which 
had  drawn  further  ahead,  swung  up  into  the  wind  and 
partially  raked  the  Richard,  Jones  filled  away  again 
and  the  battle  was  at  once  resumed  with  determined 
energy.  Pearson  now  checked  the  speed  of  his  own 
ship  by  throwing  all  aback,  or  else  wore  short  around  to 


Paul  Jones'  Greatest  Battle          47 

cross  the  Richard's  bows  and  rake,  and  the  two  vessels 
slowly  drew  together  again.  The  fire  from  both  ships 
had  been  kept  up  with  unremitting  fury  from  every  gun 
as  they  bore,  but  the  Serapis'  heavier  metal  had  played 
havoc  with  the  lighter  American.  The  carnage  and 
slaughter  upon  the  Richard  had  been  simply  frightful. 
The  rotten  old  ship  was  being  beaten  to  pieces  beneath 
the  feet  of  her  crew  by  the  terrific  battery  of  the  Sera- 
pis.  Gun  after  gun  in  the  main  battery  had  been  dis- 
mounted. At  this  moment  the  Richard  fortunately 
drew  ahead  of  the  Serapis  once  more  in  the  game  of 
seesaw  they  had  been  playing,  and  Jones,  with  a  last  des- 
perate attempt  to  close,  put  his  helm  hard  over,  and  this 
time  the  Richard  paid  off  in  front  of  and  athwart  the 
hawse  of  the  Serapis. 

The  jib-boom  of  the  English  ship  caught  in  the  miz- 
zen  rigging  of  the  American.  The  wind  upon  the  after 
sail  forced  the  stern  of  the  Serapis  round  broadside  to 
the  Richard,  and  they  lay  locked  together ;  the  bow  of 
one  by  the  stern  of  the  other,  the  starboard  batteries  of 
both  in  contact.  Pearson  had,  unknown  to  Jones, 
dropped  his  port  bower  anchor  at  the  moment  of  contact 
in  an  endeavor  to  drag  clear  of  the  Richard,  which  he 
determined  to  knock  to  pieces  at  long  range  with  his 
heavy  guns;  but  as  Benjamin  Franklin  said  in  a  word 
or  two  which  well  describes  the  man,  "Paul  Jones  ever 
loved  close  fighting/'  and  he  saw  his  opportunity  and 
rose  to  it  then  and  there ;  as  the  two  ships  fouled  each 
other,  with  his  own  hands  he  passed  the  lashing  which 
bound  them  together.  He  found  time  at  this  critical 
moment  to  reprove  one  of  his  officers  for  profanity. 

"Don't  swear,  Mr.  Stacy,"  he  said  reprovingly  to  his 
excited  subordinate,  "in  another  moment  we  may  all  be 
in  eternity,  but  let  us  do  our  duty." 

Fine  language  from  a  "pirate,"  was  it  not? 


48       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

As  the  Serapis  swung  in  board,  the  starboard  anchor 
of  the  Richard  caught  in  the  mizzen  chains  of  the  for- 
mer and  the  two  ships  were  bound  together  in  an 
embrace  which  nothing  but  death  and  destruction  could 
sever.  The  Englishman's  ports  on  the  starboard  side 
had  been  closed,  and  he  worked  his  batteries  by  firing 
through  them,  thus  blowing  off  the  port  lids.  The  ves- 
sels were  so  close  together  that  the  rammers  and 
sponges  of  the  great  guns  in  one  ship  had  to  be  extend- 
ed through  the  ports  of  the  other ;  they  were  so  close  in 
fact,  that,  as  they  ground  and  chafed  together  in  the 
waves,  the  men  on  the  lower  decks  were  actually  fight- 
ing a  hand  to  hand  conflict  with  great  guns.  But  the 
heavier  fire  of  the  Serapis  was  too  strong  for  the  endur- 
ance of  the  half-breed  crew  of  the  Richard.  The  guns 
below  were  burst,  silenced  and  dismounted,  and  from 
the  mainmast  aft  the  timbers  were  beaten  in  and  out  un- 
til both  sides  of  the  American  ship  were  literally  blown 
away  and  disappeared,  so  that  at  last  the  Serapis  actual- 
ly fired  her  batteries  through  the  open  air  without  meet- 
ing any  obstruction  to  their  shot.  There  was  really 
imminent  danger  that  the  upper  decks  aft  on  the  Rich- 
ard would  collapse  and  sink  down  into  the  ruins  below ; 
why  they  did  not  was  a  mystery.  Dale  and  a  French 
colonel  of  infantry  had  toiled  like  heroes  in  the  battery 
to  the  last,  but  the  carpenter  now  reported  six  feet  of 
water  in  the  hold  and  the  ship  making  water  fast,  and 
the  frightened  master-at-arms  at  once  released  the  pris- 
oners, crying  that  the  ship  was  sinking,  and  the  whole 
assemblage  rushed  headlong  to  the  main-deck,  the  car- 
penter and  other  petty  officers  in  the  lead  crying  for 
quarter. 

Things  had  gone  better  above,  however.  The  heavy 
mass  of  men,  including  the  riflemen  in  the  tops  of  the 


Paul  Jones'  Greatest  Battle          49 

Richard  and  the  marines  under  De  Chamillard,  had 
simply  swept  the  crowded  decks  of  the  Serapis  with  a 
searching  rain  of  bullets  from  their  small  arms  since 
the  moment  of  contact  and  before.  Nearly  every  man 
upon  her,  with  the  exception  of  the  undaunted  Pearson, 
had  been  driven  below  or  disabled,  the  decks  were  cov- 
ered with  dead  and  wounded,  groaning  and  shrieking, 
unheeded.  Some  bold,  undaunted  spirits  on  the  Rich- 
ard had  run  along  the  interlacing  yard-arms,  and  after 
a  dizzy  hand  to  hand  conflict  in  mid-air,  upon  their  pre- 
carious footholds,  had  driven  the  English  from  the  tops 
of  the  Serapis,  and  gained  possession,  whence  they 
poured  a  bitter  musketry  fire  down  the  hatchways. 

When  the  ships  had  come  together,  the  English  made 
an  attempt  to  board.  Jones  seized  a  pike  and,  followed 
by  a  few  men,  resolutely  sprang  to  the  point  of  attack, 
whence  the  British  immediately  retired.  A  like  at- 
tempt of  the  Americans  also  failed.  As  the  prisoners 
and  crew  came  springing  up  from  the  useless  guns  and 
the  decks  below,  several  young  American  officers  im- 
plored Jones  to  strike.  He  was  not  the  striking  kind. 
The  doctor  ran  from  the  cock-pit  below,  crying  that 
the  water  was  gaining  so  that  it  floated  the  wound- 
ed there,  and  they  must  surrender. 

"What,  doctor,"  cried  Jones,  smiling,  "would  you 
have  me  strike  to  a  drop  of  water  ?  Help  me  to  get  this 
gun  over." 

The  doctor  concluded  that  the  cock-pit  was  a  safer 
place  than  the  quarter-deck  and  went  below  again  to 
his  ghastly  station.  The  master-at-arms,  not  seeing 
Jones,  now  ran  aft  to  lower  the  flag ;  finding  it  had  been 
shot  away  and  was  dragging  in  the  water,  he  sprang  on 
the  rail  repeating  his  cry  for  quarter.  Dale  and  a  few 
determined  men  were  busy  below  with  the  pumps  des- 


50       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

perately  trying  to  keep  the  ship  from  sinking  beneath 
their  feet.  Jones  first  braining  with  the  butt  of  his 
pistol  the  carpenter  who  was  shrieking  that  the  ship 
was  sinking  and  also  crying  for  quarter,  with  infinite 
presence  of  mind  and  an  address  and  resourcefulness 
which  alone  would  write  his  name  among  the  great 
commanders  if  there  was  nothing  else,  succeeded  with 
the  assistance  of  the  gallant  Dale  in  quieting  his 
alarmed  crew,  and  then  compelling  the  confused  prison- 
ers to  go  to  the  pumps  on  the  plea  that  the  English 
ship  was  sinking  and  their  own  would  soon  follow,  if 
not  kept  afloat  by  their  exertions.  By  this  means  he 
relieved  a  number  of  his  own  crew,  and  for  the  rest 
of  the  battle  the  singular  spectacle  was  presented  of 
a  vessel  being  kept  afloat  by  the  people  of  the  very  na- 
tion against  whom  he  fought,  and  whose  heroic  exer- 
tions in  the  heart-breaking  work  of  continuous  pumping 
—the  hardest  labor  that  falls  to  a  sailor's  life — con- 
tributed not  a  little  to  the  final  success  of  their  captors. 
In  a  lull  of  the  fire  as  they  came  together,  Pearson, 
probably  hearing  the  carpenter  or  others  crying  for 
quarter,  shouted : 

"Have  you  struck  ?" 

To  him  Jones  returned  that  immortal  answer  up- 
on which  Americans  love  to  dwell : 

'  I  have  not  yet  begun  to  fight." 

Think  of  it !  On  a  beaten  ship,  sinking  beneath  his 
feet,  kept  afloat  by  the  exertions  of  bewildered  prisoners 
who  outnumbered  his  own  wavering  and  slaughtered 
crew,  any  other  man  would  have  struck  his  colors 
long  since,  but  Jones  had  not  yet  begun  to  fight! 
Things  proved  that  he  had  not.  The  battle  recom- 
menced at  once,  the  English  having  their  own  way 
with  their  big  guns  below  decks,  the  Americans  equally 


Paul  Jones'  Greatest  Battle         51 

successful  above.  With  his  own  hands,  assisted  by 
some  others,  the  captain,  who  had  already  acted  as  sail 
trimmer,  pikeman,  and  in  nearly  every  other  capacity 
as  well,  dragged  another  nine  pound  gun  across  the 
deck  with  great  difficulty,  and  concentrated  the  fire  of 
the  three  small  guns  loaded  with  double-headed  and 
grape  shot  upon  the  mainmast  of  the  Serapis.  Dur- 
ing the  contact  both  ships  had  caught  fire  repeatedly 
from  the  burning  gun-wads,  or  the  flame  of  the  close 
discharges,  the  Serapis  no  less  than  twelve  times  and 
the  Richard  almost  continuously.  Dale  now  took 
charge  below,  and  fought  the  fire  as  gallantly  as  he 
had  fought  the  British. 

After  the  two  ships  had  first  grappled,  about  eight 
o'clock,  the  Alliance  made  her  appearance  on  the  scene. 
Landais  sailed  slowly  across  the  stern  of  the  two  com- 
batants, delivering  a  raking  fire  upon  both  from  his 
starboard  guns  which  had  been  heavily  charged  with 
grape.  More  men  were  killed  and  wounded  on  the 
Richard  by  this  discharge  than  on  the  Serapis.  Disre- 
garding the  warning  shouts  and  signals  of  the  Richard, 
the  Alliance  then  sailed  away  and  repeated  her  per- 
formances upon  the  two  other  ships.  A  few  moments 
before  ten  o'clock,  the  battle  between  the  Serapis  and 
the  Richard  having  continued  with  the  utmost  fury 
during  the  intervening  period,  she  again  crossed 
athwart  the  interlocked  combatants.  Once  and  again 
her  broadside  did  more  damage  to  her  consort  than  to 
her  enemy.  That  was  her  contribution  to  the  fight. 

A  little  before  the  last  onslaught  of  the  Alliance,  by 
Jones'  orders,  one  of  his  seamen  ran  out  on  the  main- 
yard  with  a  bucket  of  hand  grenades  which  he  delib- 
erately proceeded  to  light  and  throw  down  the  main 
hatch  of  the  Serapis.  A  number  of  powder  charges 


52       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

had  been  carelessly  allowed  to  accumulate  upon  the 
main-deck  by  the  too  confident  English,  and  a  fearful 
explosion  took  place  which  killed  and  wounded  over 
forty  of  the  crew.  About  the  same  time  the  battered 
mainmast  of  the  Englishman  upon  which  Jones  had 
been  persistently  playing  with  his  small  guns,  fell  over 
the  side,  carrying  with  it  the  mizzen  top-mast  as  well. 
That  was  the  end.  With  his  own  hand  Captain  Pear- 
son tore  down  the  colors  which  had  been  nailed  to  the 
mast  by  his  orders,  at  half  after  ten  o'clock,  and  sur- 
rendered his  ship  to  his  thrice  beaten  enemy. 

Dale,  in  spite  of  a  severe  wound  which  he  had 
received,  but  of  which  he  was  not  yet  conscious  so  great 
was  the  excitement  of  the  battle,  at  once  leaped  upon 
the  rail  and  followed  by  a  party  of  boarders  swung 
himself  aboard  the  Serapis.  As  they  landed  upon  the 
deck  of  the  English  ship,  one  of  her  crew,  not  knowing 
of  the  surrender,  dangerously  wounded  Midshipman 
Mayrant,  Dale's  second,  with  a  pike.  From  beneath 
their  feet  still  came  the  roar  of  the  Serapis'  guns,  her 
crew  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  she  struck,  had  been 
cheered  to  renewed  exertions  by  an  English  shipmaster 
among  the  prisoners  on  the  Richard,  who  had  escaped 
from  the  pumps  and  made  his  way  to  the  lower  decks  of 
the  Serapis,  revealing  the  desperate  condition  of  their 
antagonist  and  encouraging  them  to  persevere  when 
success  would  be  both  speedy  and  certain.  So  the  Eng- 
lish in  spite  of  their  captain  fought  on.  However,  as  the 
fire  of  the  Richard  was  at  once  stopped  when  Pearson 
tore  down  the  colors,  an  English  lieutenant  came  up 
on  deck  to  see  if  she  had  struck.  When  he  learned 
from  his  commander  that  his  own  ship  had  surrendered 
he  was  astounded.  He  turned  to  go  below  intending 
to  notify  the  others,  but  Dale,  fearing  that  he  would 


Paul  Jones'  Greatest  Battle          53 

resume  the  combat,  compelled  him  to  follow  his  reluc- 
tant captain  to  the  deck  of  the  Richard. 

There  stood  the  indomitable  Paul  Jones  in  the  midst 
of  the  dead  and  dying,  wounded  himself,  and  covered 
with  blood  and  the  soil  of  the  battle,  the  Richard  sink- 
ing beneath  him,  flames  from  his  burning  ship  mingling 
with  the  moonlight  and  throwing  an  uncertain  ghastly 
illumination  upon  the  scene  of  ineffable  horror  present- 
ed. Still  locked  in  the  deadly  embrace  of  the  Richard 
lay  the  beaten  Serapis,  her  white  decks  covered  with 
the  mangled  bodies  of  her  crew,  her  lofty  masts 
broken  and  wrecked,  her  rigging  tangled  in  inextrica- 
ble confusion,  flames  breaking  forth  from  her  as  well ; 
the  sullen  English  filing  up  from  below  and  laying 
down  their  arms  at  the  behest  of  their  blood-covered, 
battle-stained  conquerors,  completed  the  picture.  To 
such  a  pass  had  the  once  stately  ships  been  brought  by 
the  passions  which  had  raged,  nay,  which  still  burned, 
in  the  bosoms  of  the  men  who  manned  them.  It  was  at 
this  moment  that  Pearson,  handing  his  sword  to  Jones, 
is  reported  to  have  made  the  ungracious  remark  about 
the  halter  referred  to.  To  him,  with  a  magnanimity  as 
sweet  to  think  on  as  was  his  valor,  Jones  replied : 

"Sir,  you  have  fought  like  a  hero;  and  I  make  no 
doubt  your  sovereign  will  reward  you  in  the  most  am- 
ple manner." 

His  words  were  prophetic,  for  Pearson,  though  he 
had  lost  his  ship,  was  knighted  for  his  gallant  defense 
and  received  pieces  of  plate,  etc.,  for  his  efficient  protec- 
tion of  his  convoy.  The  Scarborough  after  a  most 
gallant  defense  had  struck  to  the  Pallas,  and  Captain 
Piercy  of  the  English  ship  was  also  substantially  re- 
warded. When  Jones  heard  of  Pearson's  advance 
ment,  he  characteristically  made  this  remark: 


54       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

"He  deserves  it,  and  if  he  get  another  ship,  and  I 
fall  in  with  him,  I'll  make  a  duke  of  him." 

The  English  government  put  a  price  upon  the  head 
of  Paul  Jones,  dead  or  alive,  of  ten  thousand  pounds — 
an  immense  sum  and  certainly  equivalent  to  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  to-day.  Considering  his  quality, 
they  rated  him  cheaply  after  all. 

What  of  the  fate  of  the  Serapis  and  the  Richard  and 
her  captain?  It  was  impossible  to  save  the  American 
ship,  though  the  most  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to 
that  end.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  September,  therefore, 
Jones  transferred  his  flag  to  the  Serapis,  upon  which 
jury  masts  had  been  rigged,  and  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  the  brave  old  Richard,  still  flying  the  great 
flag  under  which  she  had  fought,  sank  bow  foremost  be- 
neath the  sea.  Accounts  of  the  casualties  on  the  two 
ships  differ,  and  are  uncertain ;  it  would  be  safe  to  esti- 
mate those  on  the  Richard  as  within  one  hundred  and 
fifty  killed  and  wounded  and  those  on  the  Serapis  as 
within  two  hundred.  There  never  was  a  more  bloody 
and  frightful  battle  fought  on  any  sea.  Its  happy  re- 
sult for  the  Americans  was  unquestionably  due  to  the 
exertions  of  Jones  and  Dale.  There  is  no  battle  on 
record  where  the  individual  personality  of  one  man  so 
contributed  to  the  result  obtained  as  much  as  this. 

The  little  squadron  now  made  its  way  to  the  Texel. 
Jones  was  compelled  by  the  Dutch  at  the  instigation 
of  the  English  either  to  accept  a  French  commission 
and  set  the  French  flag  over  the  Serapis  and  the  Scar- 
borough, or  else  give  up  his  prizes.  To  his  eternal 
honor  he  chose  the  latter  alternative,  and  shifted  his 
colors  to  the  Alliance,  deposing  Landais  who  was 
afterward  dismissed  the  service.  In  spite  of  thir- 
teen Dutch  ships  of  the  line  in  the  harbor  urging 


Paul  Jones'  Greatest  Battle          55 

him  to  get  to  sea  at  once,  and  the  presence  of  a  large 
fleet  of  English  ships  in  the  offing  intent  upon  his  cap- 
ture when  he  did  come  out,  Jones  calmly  refitted  the 
ship,  and  choosing  his  own  time,  in  the  midst  of  a  howl- 
ing gale  on  the  night  of  the  twenty-seventh  of  Decem- 
ber, put  to  sea  in  full  view  of  the  blockaders,  boldly 
made  his  way  through  the  narrow  English  Channel 
crowded  with  ships  on  the  lookout  for  him,  passed  two 
fleets  of  the  enemy,  and  finally  reached  Corunna,  in 
Spain,  and  shortly  after  Groix,  in  France.  From  the 
moment  he  entered  the  Texel  he  had  not  ceased  to  fly 
the  American  flag,  even  in  the  face  of  the  overwhelming 
enemy  from  whom  he  was  desperately  trying  to  escape. 
A  most  unusual  incident  this,  but  one  which  well  illus- 
trates the  character  of  the  man. 

Commodore  Jones  died  in  Paris  in  the  year  1792. 
He  was  alone  in  his  chamber  at  the  time,  and  when 
his  friends  found  him,  he  was  lying  face  downward 
upon  his  bed.  The  hand  of  the  conqueror  whom  no 
human  power  can  resist  had  been  laid  upon  him,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  the  face  of  Paul  Jones  was 
turned  away  from  the  enemy. 

"  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  learned  that  John  Paul  assumed  the 
name  of  Jones  out  of  regard  for  the  family  of  the  celebrated  Willie  Jones 
of  North  Carolina,  who,  with  his  charming  wife,  greatly  befriended  the 
young  Scotsman  in  his  days  of  adversity.  The  subject  is  treated  at  length 
in  my  life  of  John  Paul  Jones." 


THE   SARATOGA    CAMPAIGN 


I.  THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  DETACHMENTS. 

I.  TICONDEROGA,  HUBBARDTON. 

OF  all  British  officers  who  fought  in  the  American  Rev- 
olution the  name  of  the  one  who  is  regarded  with  the 
most  consideration  by  the  Americans  is  that  of  John 
Burgoyne.  The  esteem  in  which  he  is  still  held  takes 
its  rise  from  two  circumstances;  he  was  the  finest 
gentleman  of  the  lot,  and  the  most  terribly  unfortu- 
nate of  them  all.  His  personality,  from  all  accounts, 
must  have  been  charming,  and  his  kindness  of  heart 
and  loftiness  of  spirit  is  shown  by  many  little  anec- 
dotes. As,  for  instance,  when  he  was  charged  by 
Gates  with  licensing  rapine  and  outrage  on  the  part 
of  the  Indians  he  was  forced  to  employ  by  the  or- 
ders of  the  home  government,  and  whom  he  endeav- 
ored vainly  to  restrain,  he  replied  indignantly,  "I 
would  not  be  conscious  of  the  acts  which  you  presume 
to  impute  to  me  for  the  whole  continent  of  America, 
though  the  wealth  of  worlds  was  in  its  bowels,  and  a 
paradise  upon  its  surface."  He  was  a  pleasure  loving, 
cultivated,  easy  going  gentleman,  and  in  a  small  way  a 

56 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  57 

man  of  letters  beside.  As  a  commander  he  was  a  con- 
spicuous failure.  Carlyle  speaks  somewhere  of  certain 
.  English  armies  being  led  by  wooden  poles  wearing 
cocked  hats.  Burgoyne  was  certainly  a  brilliant  illus- 
tration of  the  epigram. 

The  best  of  all  the  haphazard  plans,  and  the  only 
one  showing  any  real  military  insight,  which  were 
devised  by  the  English  during  the  American  Revo- 
lution, was  that  which  resulted  in  Burgoyne's  expedi- 
ton.  There  are  some  spots  upon  this  earth's  surface 
which  are  naturally  marked  out  for  battle  grounds, 
like  the  plains  of  Beth-Horon  or  the  pass  of  Ther- 
mopylae ;  such  a  place  was  the  valley  of  the  Hudson.  It 
had  been  the  scene  of  numberless  encounters,  and  had 
been  fought  over  by  Indians,  French,  Provincials  and 
British  again  and  again.  The  English  government 
saw  that  the  only  way  of  separating  the  revolted  colo- 
nies into  manageable  units  would  be  by  possessing 
themselves  of  the  line  of  the  Hudson.  If  that  could  be 
obtained  and  held  they  could  deal  with  the  colonies  to 
the  south  and  west  at  their  leisure,  or  even  with  the 
New  England  colonies,  as  they  wished. 

The  idea  was  certainly  a  good  one ;  the  details  of  its 
execution  as  they  were  marked  out  by  the  ministry,  as 
we  shall  see,  were  radically  bad,  and  the  expedition 
was  doomed  to  disaster  from  the  beginning.  Of  all 
military  manceuvers,  that  which  necessitates  the  con- 
verging on  a  given  point,  at  a  given  time,  of  a  number 
of  entirely  independent  units  with  no  means  of  commu- 
nication between  them,  is  the  most  difficult  to  carry  out. 
The  difficulty  increases  when  every  unit  is  compelled 
to  fight  its  way  to  the  junction  point  through  deter- 
mined resistance.  In  such  cases  a  single  defeat  or 
check  may  overthrow  the  whole  plan.  That  was  why 


58       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Washington  failed  at  Germantown.  The  plan  was  for 
General  Howe  in  New  York  to  come  up  the  Hudson 
with  his  force,  while  General  Burgoyne  came  down. 
Albany  was  the  place  of  meeting  of  the  two  main  forces 
and  of  several  auxiliary  expeditions.  To  begin  with, 
the  English  minister,  Lord  George  Germaine,  pigeon- 
holed the  order  for  Howe  to  cooperate  and  forgot 
about  it,  while  he  was  visiting  at  a  country  house,  until 
it  was  too  late. 

In  the  spring  of  1777  the  British  made  their  supreme 
attempt  to  cut  the  confederated  colonies  in  two.  Bur- 
goyne, who  had  distinguished  himself  in  a  subordinate 
capacity  in  Portugal,  was  appointed  to  succeed  Sir  Guy 
Carleton,  whose  previous  attempt  in  the  same  direction 
the  year  before  had  been  checked  by  Arnold's  heroic 
naval  battle  off  Valcour  Island  on  Lake  Champlain. 
Carleton  was,  with  the  exception  of  Cornwallis,  the  best 
soldier  the  English  sent  over ;  but  Burgoyne  was  a  man 
of  great  influence  and  he  displaced  the  older  and  better 
soldier.  The  government  allowed  Burgoyne  every- 
thing he  wanted.  They  gave  him  an  absolutely  free 
hand  in  fitting  out  the  expedition ;  if  he  failed,  it  would 
be  no  one's  fault  but  his  own. 

The  force  that  he  took  with  him  consisted  of  nearly 
ten  thousand  men;  four  thousand  English  regulars, 
three  thousand  Germans,  five  hundred  artillerists,  a 
large  body  of  Canadians,  and  an  indefinite  number  of 
Indians.  The  troops  were  selected  with  especial  care 
and  included  one  of  the  best  regiments  in  the  British 
army,  Ackland's  Grenadiers.  The  second  in  com- 
mand was  Major-General  Eraser,  a  distinguished  and 
able  soldier  with  a  long  and  brilliant  record ;  Phillips, 
the  chief  of  the  artillery,  was  among  the  first  in  his  pro- 
fession ;  Lord  Balcarras,  a  dashing  soldier,  commanded 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  59 

the  light  infantry ;  Baron  Riedesel,  an  experienced  and 
capable  veteran,  led  by  the  German  contingent,  with 
Colonels  Baum  and  Breyman  among  his  subordinate 
commanders.  The  wives  of  many  of  the  officers  ac- 
companied the  expedition — perhaps  they  thought  it  was 
going  to  be  a  picnic  on  a  large  scale.  On  the  first  day 
of  July  Burgoyne  and  his  army  reached  the  famous 
fort  at  Ticonderoga.  Meanwhile  Howe,  who,  when 
left  to  his  own  discretion — which  is  a  figure  of  speech, 
for  he  had  none — was  the  most  stupid  and  wooden 
of  all  the  cocked-hatted  poles  in  command,  had  gone  off 
on  a  little  expedition  of  his  own  to  capture  Philadel- 
phia, which  was  of  no  earthly  use  to  him.  whatsoever. 
That  he  was  urged  thereto  by  General  Charles  Lee,  as 
great  a  traitor  as  Arnold  subsequently  became,  does  not 
excuse  his  blundering.  He  succeeded  in  effecting  the 
capture  after  great  delays,  and  two  desperate  battles 
with  Washington  at  the  Brandywine  and  Germantown, 
in  the  latter  of  which  he  just  barely  escaped  a  disastrous 
defeat;  after  which  he  went  into  winter  quarters  in 
Philadelphia  and  left  Burgoyne  to  his  own  devices. 
Truly  an  able  and  energetic  commander. 

General  St.  Clair  was  in  command  of  the  extensive 
works  at  Ticonderoga,  with  an  insufficient  garrison  of 
about  three  thousand  men.  He  had  proposed  to  defend 
the  place  to  the  very  last,  but  the  American  engineers, 
though  previously  warned,  had  neglected  to  fortify  Mt. 
Defiance,  a  precipitous  and  rugged  height,  towering 
some  six  hundred  feet  above  the  water  of  the  lake  about 
a  mile  away  from,  and  entirely  commanding,  the  works. 
They  had  laughed  at  the  possibility  of  mounting  a  bat- 
tery there  and  were  greatly  surprised  on  the  morning  of 
July  fifth  to  find  the  place  swarming  with  the  red- 
coats who  were  busily  mounting  a  heavy  battery. 


60       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Phillips  and  his  engineers,  with  incredible  difficulty,  had 
effected  the  apparent  impossibility;  that  General  re- 
marking sapiently,  "Where  a  goat  can  go,  a  man  may 
go;  and  where  a  man  can  go,  he  can  haul  up  a  gun." 
The  battery,  which  would  be  in  position  the  next  day, 
absolutely  commanded  the  fort  and  rendered  it  untena- 
ble, so  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  abandon  the  posi- 
tion without  loss  of  time,  or  to  surrender  the  army. 

It  was  a  terrible  blow,  not  only  on  account  of  the 
munitions  of  war  and  the  supplies  which  could  not  be 
destroyed,  and  which  would  naturally  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  but  the  holding  of  the  position, 
on  account  of  the  romantic  manner  in  \vhich  it  had  been 
captured  by  Ethan  Allen,  was  looked  upon  as  a  point 
of  honor.  However,  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to 
leave.  When  St.  Clair  was  afterward  reproached 
for  abandoning  the  position,  he  replied  pithily  and 
wisely,  "Yes,  I  lost  a  post,  but  saved  a  province." 
He  was  subsequently  tried  and  acquitted  for  his  action. 
On  the  following  night  of  the  fifth,  therefore,  the 
women  and  the  children  and  invalids  were  embarked 
in  two  hundred  boats  and  sent  down  the  lake  under 
strong  guard  toward  Fort  Edward;  and  St.  Clair, 
committing  the  charge  of  the  rear-guard  to  Colonels 
Seth  Warner  (Ethan  Allen's  whilom  associate), 
Francis  and  Hale,  retreated  toward  Castleton  in  all 
haste,  quietly  spiking  the  guns  and  destroying  the 
stores  as  much  as  possible  before  leaving,  without 
giving  the  alarm. 

Unfortunately,  however,  and  by  the  orders  of  General 
de  Fermoy,  it  is  said,  a  house  was  set  on  fire  by  the  re- 
treating soldiers  and  its  brilliant  illumination  gave 
away  the  whole  affair.  The  British  immediately  oc- 
cupied the  fort  and  Eraser  with  nine  hundred  men 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  61 

started  in  hot  pursuit.  They  came  up  with  the  rear- 
guard the  next  morning  at  Hubbardton  where  a  desper- 
ate encounter  took  place.  The  Americans,  numbering 
about  one  thousand  men,  fought  with  the  greatest 
spirit,  beating  off  the  British  several  times, and,  in  fact, 
charging  fiercely  in  return,  drove  back  Fraser  in  confu- 
sion, until  the  British  were  reinforced  by  Riedesel  and 
his  Hessians,  when  the  Americans  were  forced  to 
withdraw,  leaving  on  the  field  about  three  hundred 
killed  or  wounded,  including  many  officers.  The  brave 
Colonel  Francis  was  killed  while  leading  a  charge 
upon  the  enemy,  Colonel  Hale  was  captured  and  Col- 
onel Warner,  with  the  remnant  of  his  regiment,  retreat- 
ed eastward  through  Vermont.  Though  somewhat  de- 
layed by  this  sharp  action,  the  British  pursued  the 
Americans  so  closely  that  the  fugitives  burnt  and  aban- 
doned Fort  Ann,  and  retreated  with  all  speed  south  to 
Fort  Edward,  where  St.  Clair's  men  joined  General 
Schuyler's  little  force  on  the  twelfth  of  July. 

General  Schuyler,  who  was  in  chief  command  of  the 
surrounding  American  department  at  that  time,  worked 
in  the  most  heroic  and  wise  way  to  check  the  British 
advance,  summoning  the  wilderness  to  his  aid.  The 
inhabitants  withdrew  from  the  country  entirely,  all  of 
the  provisions  and  stock  they  could  not  take  with  them 
they  destroyed;  bridges  were  broken  down,  the  rivers 
and  creeks  choked  up,  and  stalwart  woodsmen  felled 
the  mighty  trees  in  the  forest  paths  and  otherwise 
blocked  the  roads,  so  that  the  British  progress  was 
slow  in  the  extreme.  It  took  Burgoyne  thirty  days 
to  advance  his  army  nearly  twenty-four  miles  through 
the  wilderness,  though  up  to  that  time  he  states  that  he 
had  built  some  forty  bridges — as  a  bridge  builder  he 
was  an  unrivaled  success !  Every  step  of  the  road  had 


62       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

to  be  made  anew,  the  Americans  retiring  in  good  order 
before  the  slow  British  advance.  The  army,  of  course, 
carried  its  provisions  and  supplies  and  the  men  were 
in  heavy  marching  order  which  made  progress  through 
the  thick  woods  extremely  difficult.  Burgoyne  had 
hoped  to  have  lived  off  the  country,  but  found  it  impos- 
sible. The  inhabitants  did  not  rally  to  his  standard  to 
any  great  extent,  as  he  had  been  led  to  believe  they 
would,  and  his  position  was  rapidly  becoming  a  difficult 
one.  Finally  he  reached  Skenesborough,  where  he  rest- 
ed ;  he  and  his  were  tired,  and  it  was  time  they  did  so. 


II.    FORT    STANWIX.       ORISKANY. 

MEANWHILE  another  expedition  had  been  organized, 
which  had  started  out  at  the  same  time  as  his  own  by 
way  of  Lake  Ontario,  to  make  an  attack  upon  Fort 
Stanwix,  situated  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Mohawk 
River  where  navigation  ceased.  It  comprised  about 
seventeen  hundred  British  regulars,  Provincials,  Sir 
John  Johnson's  Tory  contingent,  and  numbers  of  In- 
dians, and  was  under  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
St.  Leger.  After  they  had  captured  the  fort,  they  were 
to  swoop  down  the  Mohawk  Valley  and,  gathering 
stores  therefrom,  were  to  join  Howe  and  Burgoyne 
at  Albany.  They  landed  at  Oswego  about  the  middle 
of  July  and  made  their  way  to  the  fort  without  opposi- 
tion, and  immediately  invested  it  on  the  third  of 
August.  It  was  defended  by  Colonel  Peter  Gansevoort 
with  about  six  hundred  men.  The  stout  old  colonel  re- 
fused to  surrender  and,  as  the  fort  had  been  recently 
strengthened,  St.  Leger  feared  to  assault  and  saw  no 
way  to  effect  its  capture  except  by  a  regular  siege. 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  63 

Schuyler  had  called  out  the  militia  of  Tryon  County, 
under  the  command  of  General  Nicholas  Herkimer,  a 
veteran  soldier  in  his  sixtieth  year,  who  resolved  to  re- 
lieve the  fort.  His  little  army  of  some  eight  hundred 
men  pursued  their  way  up  the  Mohawk  Valley  unmo- 
lested until,  very  early  in  the  morning  of  the  fifth  of 
August,  while  it  was  yet  dark,  they  came  near  to  the 
Oriskany  Creek,  about  eight  miles  from  Fort  Stanwix. 
At  that  point  the  advance  was  halted  and  three  messen- 
gers were  despatched  to  the  fort  with  a  request  from 
Herkimer  that  Gansevoort  would  fire  three  guns  imme- 
diately upon  their  arrival  and  make  a  sortie  to  engage 
the  enemy,  when  Herkimer  would  advance  and  endeav- 
or to  break  through  the  besieging  lines  and  gain  the 
fort,  and  thus  it  was  hoped  the  siege  would  be  raised. 
The  men  found  it  difficult  to  reach  the  fort ;  the  long 
hours  dragged  away  and  no  sound  came  to  announce 
their  arrival ;  the  impatient  militia  under  Herkimer 
chafed  bitterly  at  the  delay,  finally  going  so  far  as  to  re- 
proach the  general  for  not  permitting  them  to  go  on. 
He  was  suspected,  most  unjustly,  of  Tory  leanings,  and 
his  principal  officers,  Colonels  Cox  and  Paris,  did  not 
refrain,  in  the  stress  of  their  excitement,  from  apprising 
him  of  their  suspicions  and  charging  him  with  cowar- 
dice. The  wise  old  man  resisted  their  importunities 
and  disregarded  their  taunts  until  they  became  unbear- 
able, when  he  reluctantly  ordered  an  advance. 

The  road,  or  way,  led  across  a  causeway  of  logs  car- 
ried over  a  marsh  in  a  narrow  defile  thickly  wooded, 
in  which  an  ambush  had  been  carefully  prepared.  St. 
Leger,  to  intercept  them,  had  despatched  a  large  body 
of  "Johnson's  Greens"  under  Major  Watts,  many  of 
them  neighbors  and  acquaintances  of  Herkimer's 
men.  Between  these  antagonistic  bodies,  on  account  of 


64       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

their  differing  political  views,  a  most  acrid  and  bitter 
feeling  had  developed,  so  that  they  literally  longed  to 
get  at  each  other.  This  Tory  regiment  was  accompan- 
ied by  a  large  body  'of  Mohawks  under  the  famous 
Brant,  and  under  his  direction  the  ambush  was  ar- 
ranged. The  Americans  marched  carelessly  into  the 
defile  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  would 
have  undoubtedly  been  massacred  to  a  man,  had  it  not 
been  that  the  impetuosity  of  the  Indians,  who  fired  pre- 
cipitately, apprised  them  of  their  danger.  They  were 
met  after  a  shot  or  two  by  a  smashing  volley.  Herki- 
mer's  rear-guard  immediately  retreated  incontinently, 
but  the  rest  stood  their  ground  stoutly  and  returned  the 
fire;  old  hands  at  this  sort  of  a  game,  the  men  at  once 
sought  cover  behind  trees  and  commenced  in  that  nar- 
row valley  a  woodmen's  battle,  which  for  sanguinary 
ferocity  and  determined  persistence  was  hardly  paral- 
leled on  the  continent. 

To  their  political  differences  they  added  personal 
antagonisms  of  the  bitterest  kind,  and  as  the  conflict 
grew  fiercer,  the  opposing  bodies  of  sometime  friends 
and  neighbors,  and  the  ferocious  Iroquois,  drew  near- 
er to  each  other,  until  they  fought  during  the  long  hot 
morning  through  the  woods  and  marshes  hand  to  hand. 
A  furious  thunder-storm  accompanied  by  vivid  light- 
ning now  broke  over  the  horrid  scene,  and  the  rain 
which  began  to  fall  in  torrents  rendered  the  firearms 
useless,  but  conflict  was  actually  carried  on  with  knives. 
Colonels  Cox  and  Paris  were  both  killed.  The  Ameri- 
cans presently  gained  a  more  advantageous  position  on 
higher  ground,  and  the  Indians  began  to  give  way. 
Watts  with  the  Tories  now  made  a  desperate  charge 
with  the  bayonet.  The  struggle  became  a  confused 
bloody  conflict  between  men  mad  and  raving  with 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  65 

the  lust  of  battle,  from  which,  after  more  than  five  hun- 
dred had  been  killed  or  wounded,  the  Indians  finally  fled 
and  the  Tories  and  the  Americans  alike  sullenly  and 
bitterly  withdrew  from  the  field  in  complete  exhaustion. 

Herkimer  was  early  disabled  by  a  bullet  which  shat- 
tered his  knee  and  killed  his  horse.  The  noble  old  man 
refused  to  withdraw  from  the  conflict  and  directed  his 
aides  to  place  him  on  his  saddle  with  his  back  against 
a  great  tree.  There,  while  smoking  his  pipe,  he  calmly 
directed  the  conflict.  The  passions  of  men  had  turned 
the  pretty  little  valley  into  a  hellish  slaughter-pen,  and 
about  half  of  those  engaged  on  both  sides  had  been 
killed  or  wounded — a  terrible  proportion,  indeed !  So 
bitter  had  been  the  strife  that  even  the  agonies  of 
death  itself  had  not  separated  the  fighters;  men  were 
found  locked  in  each  other's  arms,  a  knife  in  each  heart, 
in  a  grasp,  the  tenacity  of  which  bespoke  their  infernal 
passion.  Herkimer's  advance  was,  of  course,  checked ; 
he  did  not  succeed  in  reaching  the  fort,  but  the  dread- 
ful slaughter  he  had  inflicted  greatly  discouraged  St. 
Leger's  men  and  correspondingly  encouraged  the  gar- 
rison. 

In  the  heat  of  the  conflict  Herkimer's  messengers 
reached  Gansevoort,  who  had  been  wondering  what 
the  distant  firing  meant,  and  he  immediately  sent  out 
Colonel  Marinus  Willett  with  two  hundred  and  fifty 
picked  men,  who  fell  upon  St.  Leger's  camp  and  stam- 
peded a  portion  of  his  force  with  great  slaughter ;  they 
captured  five  standards,  and  twenty  wagon  loads  of 
plunder,  and  returned  to  the  fort  in  safety  without  los- 
ing a  man !  The  five  captured  flags  were  immediately 
hoisted  below  an  improvised  American  banner,  the  only 
one  they  possessed  in  the  fort,  which  had  been  made  out 
of  a  white  sheet,  a  blanket  and  a  woman's  petticoat — 


66       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

this  was  the  first  time  that  an  English  flag  had  been 
hoisted  beneath  the  Stars  and  Stripes!  Fiske  says,  in 
fact,  this  was  the  first  American  flag  with  its  stars  and 
stripes  that  was  ever  hoisted.  St.  Leger,  however,  still 
pressed  the  siege  vigorously  and  Colonel  Willett  final- 
ly volunteered  to  carry  the  news  of  their  condition  to 
Schuyler.  He  succeeded  in  escaping  through  the  lines, 
after  some  thrilling  adventures,  and  Schuyler  imme- 
diately despatched  Arnold,  the  only  one  of  his  briga- 
diers who  would  volunteer,  with  twelve  hundred  men 
to  the  rescue. 

Arnold  had  but  a  small  force,  but  he  was  himself  a 
host.  In  strategy  he  proved  himself  as  wise  as  he  was 
in  battle  brave ;  so  he  caused  reports  to  be  spread  greatly 
exaggerating  the  number  of  his  forces  and  their  near- 
ness to  St.  Leger.  He  actually  succeeded  in  creating 
a  panic  among  the  troops  of  that  disgusted  soldier, 
which  caused  the  Indians  to  withdraw  after  first  filling 
themselves  with  whisky  and  raiding  his  camp,  so  that 
finally  the  English  were  forced  to  raise  the  siege 
and  fly  precipitately  from  their  camp,  leaving  tents, 
artillery,  provisions,  and  everything  for  the  Americans. 
This  was  August  the  twenty-second.  During  his 
rapid  retreat  St.  Leger's  army  disintegrated  and  noth- 
ing more  was  to  be  feared  from  them.  They  never 
appeared  on  the  scene  again.  Fort  Stanwix  was  saved, 
and  the  Mohawk  Valley,  from  which  the  British  had 
expected  to  gain  large  supplies,  remained  in  possession 
of  the  Americans.  The  heroic  Herkimer  died  at  his 
own  home  a  few  days  after  the  battle,  mainly  from 
the  effects  of  unskilful  surgery ;  his  end  was  that  of  a 
philosopher  and  a  Christian.  Fully  conscious  of  it, 
he  smoked  his  pipe  and  read  his  Bible  to  his  assembled 
family  at  the  thirty-eighth  Psalm  until  he  expired. 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  67 

May  his  name  be  held  ever  in  grateful  remembrance. 
This  defeat  was  blow  number  two  to  the  hapless  Bur- 
goyne. 

III.    BENNINGTON. 

BLOW  number  one  was  delivered  on  the  sixteenth  of 
August.  Burgoyne,  in  great  straits  for  provisions,  for- 
age and  horses,  had  learned  that  there  was  a  large 
depot  of  supplies  at  Bennington,  in  Vermont.  On  the 
thirteenth  of  August  he  despatched  a  force  of  five  hun- 
dred men,  most  of  whom  were  dismounted  Hessian 
dragoons,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Baum,to  seize 
the  supplies;  one  hundred  Indians  followed  Baum's 
force.  Major  Skene,  a  royalist  of  the  neighborhood, 
also  accompanied  the  expedition.  A  skeleton  organi- 
zation for  a  regiment  of  royalists,  which  it  was  hoped 
might  be  raised  among  the  people,  was  also  sent  along 
—that  regiment  never  amounted  to  more  than  that 
skeleton,  and  even  that  was  soon  lost! 

On  the  news  of  Burgoyne's  descent,  the  New  Hamp- 
shire militia  had  rallied  under  the  command  of 
that  famous  veteran  of  the  old  French  and  Indian 
war,  John  Stark.  It  was  he  who  had  held  the  rail 
fence  stuffed  with  straw  at  Bunker  Hill.  He  had  fought 
in  all  the  battles  around  Boston  and  New  York.  It 
was  he  who  led  the  advance  of  Sullivan's  column  on  the 
famous  Christmas  night  at  Trenton.  He  had  been  un- 
justly treated  by  Congress  in  the  matter  of  rank  and 
had  retired  from  the  service,  with  the  pithy  remark 
that,  "an  officer  who  could  not  protect  his  own  rights 
could  not  be  entrusted  safely  with  those  of  his  coun- 
try!" He  had  accepted  the  command  of  the  militia 
with  great  reluctance  and  expressly  stipulated  that  he 


68       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

should  be  amenable  only  to  the  authorities  of  New 
Hampshire. 

By  his  orders  the  men  assembled  at  Bennington, 
wheje  there  was  a  large  supply  depot.  They  were  a 
rude  and  motley  array;  there  was  not  a  uniform  among 
them;  many  came  in  their  hunting  frocks,  or  in  home- 
spun shirts,  but  every  man  carried  a  bright,  well-kept 
rifle,  which  he  knew  how  to  use,  and,  in  their  way,  they 
made  up  a  very  effective  force.  No  loyalists  joined 
Baum,  and  appearances  were  so  threatening  that  he 
stopped  near  Bennington  on  the  fifteenth  of  August  and 
entrenched  on  a  little  hillock  near  a  creek  during  a 
long  rainy  day,  and  sent  back  a  message  for  reinforce- 
ments. Before  the  battle  the  next  day,  August  six- 
teenth, in  the  early  afternoon,  Stark  in  his  plain  and 
homely  way  made  a  brief  speech  to  his  men,  conclud- 
ing with  these  significant  words,  "Now,  my  men, 
there  are  the  red-coats!  Before  night  they  must 
be  ours,  or  Molly  Stark  will  be  a  widow!"  The 
morning  had  been  consumed  in  preparing  for  the 
battle.  Stark  had  sent  parties  of  men  through  the 
woods  in  every  direction,  past  the  unconscious  Ger- 
mans, who,  never  having  seen  an  army  out  of  uniform, 
paid  but  little  attention  to  them,  until  he  had  assem- 
bled a  force  of  two  hundred  men  on  one  side,  three 
hundred  on  another  and  two  hundred  on  a  third  side 
of  Baum's  little  redoubt.  It  has  been  said  that 
Baum  had  surmised  that  these  detached  parties  were 
the  expected  rank  and  file  of  that  skeleton  regiment. 
He  was  soon  bitterly  undeceived. 

The  Americans  were  three  times  as  great  in  numbers 
as  their  antagonists,  but  every  advantage  was  with  the 
Germans.  They  were  well-trained,  disciplined  sol- 
diery, in  a  commanding  position  of  their  own  choosing, 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  69 

strongly  entrenched  and  provided  with  cannon.  But  in 
spite  of  this  "the  men  who  fought  at  Minden,"  under 
the  famous  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick,  were  no  match 
for  the  Americans  under  Stark !  The  Indians  who  had 
accompanied  Baum  were  wiser  than  he.  They  knew 
what  deadly  foes  these  men  in  their  hunting  frocks 
could  be,  and  they  fled  incontinently.  Finally  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  all  his  dispositions  having 
been  made  satisfactorily,  Stark  moved  across  the  shal- 
low stream  and  gave  the  signal  to  begin  the  battle. 
The  enemy  was  entirely  surrounded.  The  Germans 
had  two  field  pieces  which,  at  first  well-served,  did  great 
execution,  but  the  experienced  American  riflemen  from 
their  various  points  of  vantage  picked  off  the  men  at 
the  guns,  sometimes  creeping  to  within  eight  or  ten 
paces  of  the  redoubt  in  order  to  do  it  effectually,  until 
the  space  about  the  artillery  became  a  regular  death- 
trap. Stark  was  everywhere  around  the  fort  inspiring 
his  men.  Finally,  after  several  hours  of  conflict,  the 
ammunition  of  the  Hessians  began  to  diminish,  and  the 
Americans  actually  stormed  the  position!  Stark  led 
one  of  the  columns  in  person  and  fought  with  his 
sword,  hand  to  hand,  with  the  rest.  The  Hessians  met 
the  charge  with  the  bayonet  and  with  the  swords  of  the 
dragoons,  but  nothing  could  stem  the  splendid  advance 
of  the  Americans.  Baum  was  killed,  many  of  his  men 
fell  with  him,  and  the  rest  threw  down  their  arms  and 
were  captured.  A  militia  army  without  bayonets  had 
captured  a  fortified  position  defended  by  artillery  and 
garrisoned  by  veteran  soldiers ! 

At  this  juncture  Colonel  Breyman,  with  six  hundred 
German  and  English  troops  whom  Burgoyne  had  des- 
patched to  succor  Baum's  men,  made  his  appearance 
on  the  scene,  and  immediately  charged  the  disorganized 


70       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Americans,  who  began  to  give  ground  before  the  on- 
slaught of  these  fresh  soldiers.  At  this  critical  mo- 
ment, Warner's  men,  whom  we  have  seen  gallantly 
fighting  at  Hubbardton,  led  by  the  colonel  in  person, 
came  running  on  the  scene,  not  yet  having  been  en- 
gaged. By  Stark's  order  they  immediately  charged 
Breyman's  troops.  The  other  Americans  rallied  and 
returned  to  the  conflict  and  in  a  short  time  Breyman 
was  forced  to  retreat,  which  he  did  expeditiously  and 
disastrously.  He  lost  heavily  in  killed,  wounded  and 
captured.  Attended  by  only  sixty  or  seventy  soldiers, 
he  finally  succeeded  in  reaching  the  force  which  Bur- 
goyne  in  person  had  led  out  to  succor  him.  In  this 
action  over  two  hundred  were  killed  or  wounded ;  some 
seven  hundred  prisoners  and  one  thousand  stand  of 
arms,  nearly  as  many  dragoon  swords,  and  four  guns, 
together  with  'many  other  equipments,  fell  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  victorious  Americans,  who  lost  only 
about  sixty  killed  and  wounded !  This  was  blow  num- 
ber one,  and  the  two  strokes  almost  completed  the 
undoing  of  Burgoyne's  hapless  expedition. 


THE    SARATOGA    CAMPAIGN 


II.  THE  END  OF  THE  MAIN  ARMY 
i.  FREEMAN'S  FARM 

THE  position  of  Burgoyne  was  now  become  desperate. 
The  American  militia  came  pouring  in  upon  him  from 
all  sides.  The  murder,  by  the  Indians,  of  a  beautiful 
young  girl,  Jane  MacCrea,  betrothed  to  a  lieutenant  in 
the  British  camp,  had  aroused  the  most  intense  feeling 
among  the  American  farmers ;  and  animated  by  a  burn- 
ing desire  to  revenge  and  punish  this  and  other  atroci- 
ties, they  flocked  to  the  American  standards  in  great 
and  ever  increasing  numbers.  Burgoyne  was  horrified 
at  the  outrages  perpetrated  by  his  savage  allies  and  did 
what  he  could  to  prevent  them,  finally  dismissing  the 
Indians  altogether;  but  it  was  then  too  late,  the  mis- 
chief had  been  done. 

Congress  on  the  first  of  August  had  removed  the 
brave  and  able  Philip  Schuyler  and  replaced  him  with 
the  weak  and  inefficient  Horatio  Gates !  It  was  a  most 
unjust  change,  and  the  subsequent  victories  of  the 
Americans  were  due  not  to  Gates,  but  to  Schuyler's 
wise  measures  and  unflagging  energy — it  was  too  bad 


72       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

that  he  should  have  been  robbed  of  the  glory  after 
having  sustained  the  hardships,  met  the  difficulties,  and 
laid  the  plans,  which  brought  success,  for  Burgoyne 
was  practically  beaten  before  Gates  appeared.  If  Bur- 
goyne was  a  hoop-pole  in  a  cocked  hat,  Gates  was 
scarcely  more  than  a  toothpick  similarly  clad !  Schuy- 
ler  behaved  like  the  hero,  the  patriot,  the  gentleman, 
that  he  was;  remaining  with  Gates  and  assisting  and 
advising  with  him  to  the  end  of  the  campaign,  though 
treated  with  scorn  and  contumely  by  the  latter. 

The  defeats  of  Baum  and  St.  Leger  had  terribly 
crippled  the  British.  Nothing  whatever  had  been  heard 
from  the  expected  movement  of  Sir  William  Howe 
up  the  river.  As  we  have  seen,  that  gentleman  had 
gone  on  a  wild-goose  chase  toward  Philadelphia.  La- 
ter on  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  moved  up  from  New 
York,  outgeneraling  old  Putnam  in  a  rather  clever 
campaign,  and  captured  Forts  Washington  and  Lee  on 
the  Hudson.  After  this  brilliant  exploit,  his  action 
not  having  effected  the  final  issue  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree, he  had  retired  to  New  York  again.  Prudence 
would  have  dictated  that  Burgoyne  should  retreat  at 
once  to  Canada  if  it  were  yet  possible,  but  he  was  a 
chivalrous  gentleman  and  could  not  bear  the  idea  of 
withdrawal,  for  the  reason  that  it  would  permit  the 
large  American  army  in  front  of  him  to  attack  Howe, 
then,  as  he  supposed,  coming  up  the  river,  and  crush 
him!  Besides,  his  main  army  had  not  yet  done 
any  serious  fighting,  and  in  common  with  all  the 
British  officers  he  despised  the  Americans  and  prob- 
ably counted  on  an  easy  victory  when  he  attacked, 
which  might  materially  alter  the  situation.  His  ex- 
perience at  Bunker  Hill  ought  to  have  taught  him 
differently.  He  therefore  determined,  against  the  ad- 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  73 

vice  of  some  of  his  best  officers,  upon  giving  battle. 
On  the  thirteenth  of  September  he  crossed  the  Hud- 
son on  a  bridge  of  rafts  to  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
where  he  strongly  fortified  a  camp.  On  the  nineteenth 
of  the  same  month  he  moved  his  army  out  to  make  the 
long  expected  attack,  from  which  so  much  was  hoped. 

The  American  position  had  been  established  on  Be- 
mis  Heights.  It  was  well-fortified,  and  the  lines  had 
been  laid  out  by  the  distinguished  Polish  volunteer, 
Thaddeus  Kosciusko.  Gates'  force  amounted  to  about 
fifteen  thousand  men,  mostly  militia  and  volunteers. 
His  second  in  command  was  the  famous  Benedict  Ar- 
nold. Washington  had  sent  him  from  the  southern 
army  and  with  him  the  famous  corps  of  riflemen  under 
Daniel  Morgan,  as  well  as  some  other  veterans  of  the 
Continental  line,  whom  he  could  ill  spare,  by  the  way, 
as  he  was  having  his  hands  full  at  the  Brandywine  and 
Germantown,  Putnam  also  despatched  some  veterans 
to  Gates. 

Burgoyne's  plan  of  attack  seems  to  have  been  to  turn 
the  left  flank  of  the  American  position  at  the  same 
time  that  he  made  a  direct  attack  on  the  center  and 
right :  General  Fraser  had  command  of  the  right  wing, 
Riedesel  and  Phillips  of  the  left,  and  he,  himself,  led 
the  center.  The  movement  commenced  in  the  early 
morning.  The  American  scouts  and  pickets,  posted  in 
the  thick  woods,  caught  the  gleam  of  the  rising  sun  re- 
flected from  hundreds  of  bayonets  of  the  silently 
advancing  army;  here  and  there  through  vistas  in  the 
forest  might  be  seen  little  groups  of  red-coated  men. 
By  noon  Burgoyne's  plan  had  been  entirely  discovered. 
Arnold,  who  commanded  the  left  wing,  was  not  in- 
clined like  Gates  to  play  a  waiting  game,  and  when  he 
found  that  the  latter  was  disposed  to  remain  inside  his 


74       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

strong  entrenchments  to  await  the  attack,  he  protested 
with  all  the  force  of  his  impetuous  nature.  His  repre- 
sentations were  so  far  successful  that  finally  Gates  gave 
him  leave  to  take  Morgan's  and  Dearborn's  brigades 
of  Continentals,  and  move  out  to  the  attack. 

It  was  about  three  o'clock  when  he  fell  upon  the  ad- 
vance of  the  British  center  under  Burgoyne  himself  at 
Freeman's  Farm.  The  conflict  at  once  became  sanguin- 
ary and  desperate.  Arnold  had  slightly  the  greater 
force  at  the  point  of  contact,  and  the  British  center  was 
driven  back,  fighting  stoutly  and  contesting  every  foot 
of  the  way.  General  Fraser  on  the  right  made  all  haste 
to  join  the  center,  but  Arnold,  flushed  with  success, 
daringly  thrust  his  men  forward  and  interposed  be- 
tween Fraser's  left  and  the  British  center,  and  Fra- 
ser had  a  desperate  time  to  maintain  his  division 
intact.  The  battle  was  now  general ;  Arnold  was  at- 
tacking and  driving  the  British  center  straight  back; 
charge  and  countercharge  were  delivered,  guns  were 
taken  and  retaken,  and  the  battle  became  a  fierce  hand 
to  hand  struggle  in  the  woods.  Arnold  was  every- 
where, in  the  thick  of  the  fray,  fighting  like  the  com- 
monest soldier,  and  animating  his  men  to  more  desper- 
ate exertions.  Burgoyne,  Fraser  and  the  English 
did  not  spare  themselves  in  the  fight  either,  and 
soldiers  and  officers  fought  side  by  side.  Part  of 
Arnold's  men  were  moving  on  the  right  flank  of  the 
British  center,  and  another  part  on  the  left  flank  of 
Fraser's  right  division,  and  the  enemy's  lines  were  fair- 
ly broken.  The  situation  of  the  British  army  was  pre- 
carious in  the  extreme.  The  bold  tactics  of  Arnold  had 
completely  disorganized  and  nullified  Burgoyne's  plan 
of  attack. 

Meanwhile,  during  the  long  afternoon  up  on  Bemis 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  75 

Heights,  Gates  held  eleven  thousand  impatient  men  in 
reserve  who  did  nothing  at  all.  Arnold  repeated- 
ly sent  to  him  for  reinforcements  and  declared  that 
with  two  thousand  more  men  he  could  have  utterly 
routed  the  whole  British  army,  which  was  probably 
true.  Gates  paid  no  attention  whatever  to  Arnold's 
requests,  and  as  the  shades  of  night  drew  on,  Phillips 
and  Riedesel,  in  command  of  the  left  wing  of  the  Brit- 
ish, who  had  intended  to  make  the  direct  attack  on  the 
entrenchments,  gave  over  their  purpose,  and  summoned 
to  his  aid  by  urgent  messengers  from  Burgoyne,  hastily 
turned  away  to  the  river,  and  by  hard  marching  struck 
the  right  flank  of  Arnold's  division.  The  preponder- 
ance of  force  was  now  the  other  way.  The  American 
advance  was  checked,  the  British  line  re-formed,  and  the 
advantage  previously  gained  was  lost.  The  battle  still 
raged,  however,  until  nightfall,  when  Arnold  sullenly 
withdrew  his  men  in  good  order,  leaving  the  British 
in  possession  of  the  field  whereon  they  had  fought. 
They,  therefore,  claimed  a  victory;  but  inasmuch  as 
their  attack  on  the  American  line  had  been  foiled  and 
their  advance  checked,  the  victory — if  it  may  be  so 
called — was  a  barren  one,  and  the  honors  rested  en- 
tirely with  Arnold.  He  had  in  action  about  three 
thousand  men  as  opposed,  at  the  close  of  the  fight,  to 
four  thousand  five  hundred  of  the  British.  About  one- 
fourth  of  the  combatants  were  killed  or  wounded — a 
tremendously  large  proportion — the  British  suffering 
the  greater  loss.  The  combat  was  known  as  the  Battle 
of  Freeman's  Farm. 

There  was  a  wild  scene  of  recrimination  and  re- 
proach at  headquarters  that  night  between  Gates  and 
Arnold,  and  the  former  finally  relieved  the  latter  of  his 
command  and  sent  him  his  passports  to  Philadelphia. 


76       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Arnold  refused  to  go.  In  the  despatches  which  Gates 
sent  to  Congress  announcing  the  victory,  he  basely 
made  no  mention  of  Arnold's  name.  The  two  armies 
remained  in  camp  until  the  seventh  of  October,  keeping 
up  a  constant  skirmishing  and  picket  firing,  although 
the  net  was  drawn  more  and  more  closely  about  Bur- 
goyne  with  every  succeeding  day.  During  this  period 
he  received  word  that  Lincoln's  men  had  recaptured 
the  outworks  of  Ticonderoga,  and  the  fort  was  be- 
sieged. His  boats  on  Lake  George  were  taken  and 
destroyed,  his  lines  of  communication  cut,  his  base  of 
supplies  menaced.  Henceforward  no  supplies  of  any 
kind  were  received,  and  provisions  became  very  scarce ; 
the  whole  army  was  put  on  short  allowance  and  the 
hardships  were  very  great. 


II.    STILLWATER 

ON  the  seventh  of  October,  in  utter  desperation,  Bur- 
goyne  resolved  upon  a  final  attempt  to  break  through 
the  ever-tightening  circles  drawn  about  him  by  the  ene- 
my. He  selected  from  his  depleted  force  a  picked  col- 
umn of  about  fifteen  hundred  men,  the  very  best  in 
the  army.  He  led  it  in  person,  and  Eraser,  Riedesel, 
Phillips,  Balcarras  and  Ackland  accompanied  him.  A 
strong  battery  of  artillery  went  with  them.  General 
Fraser,  with  five  hundred  chosen  men,  led  the  advance. 
The  rest  of  the  army  remained  under  arms  in  camp, 
ready  for  any  success  or  emergency.  As  he  advanced 
toward  the  American  line,  his  movement  was  discov- 
ered, and  Morgan,  with  three  thousand  riflemen,  at- 
tacked him  furiously  on  the  right,  while  the  New 
England  militia  moved  out  upon  his  front. 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  77 

The  heroism  of  that  little  party  of  English  soldiers 
was  nothing  less  than  marvelous;  such  stubborn  right- 
ing as  they  made  had  not  been  witnessed  on  the  conti- 
nent and  was  not  seen  again  for  a  long  time ;  they  and 
their  leaders  fully  sustained  the  national  reputation  for 
valor.  Fraser,  on  a  big  gray  horse,  was  everywhere 
in  the  conflict,  animating  his  men,  and  contesting  every 
point  with  the  most  determined  courage  and  skill.  The 
British  were  slowly  forced  back  by  the  overwhelm- 
ing Americans.  Ackland's  Grenadiers,  one  of  the  finest 
regiments  in  the  British  army,  began  to  give  ground 
under  the  furious  attacks  of  the  riflemen.  Ackland 
himself  was  desperately  wounded  and  taken  prisoner. 
Fraser  succeeded,  however,  in  re-forming  his  shattered 
lines  on  the  hills  of  Freeman's  Farm,  the  scene  of  the 
previous  battle;  he  was  ably  seconded  by  the  other 
commanders  who  exposed  themselves  with  the  highest 
degree  of  personal  gallantry. 

The  story  goes  that  Morgan,  seeing  the  value  of 
Fraser's  services,  called  two  of  his  most  expert  riflemen 
and  pointed  to  the  unfortunate  soldier,  with  the  words, 
''That  is  General  Fraser.  He  is  a  brave  man,  I  honor 
him,  but  for  the  success  of  our  cause  it  is  necessary 
he  should  die."  The  bullets  began  to  fall  thickly  about 
the  brave  Englishman,  and  some  of  his  staff  officers 
begged  him  to  retire.  "My  duty  forbids  me  to  retire 
from  danger,  my  place  is  here,"  he  replied,  and  immedi- 
ately after  a  rifle  bullet  struck  him  in  the  breast  mor- 
tally wounding  him.  No  loss,  not  even  that  of  Bur- 
goyne  himself,  could  have  been  more  serious.  He  was 
carried  back  to  camp  in  a  wheelbarrow,  suffering 
dreadfully. 

Arnold,  who  had  been  chafing  bitterly  at  his  en- 
forced idleness  on  the  Heights,  watching  the  battle  in 


78       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

which  he  had  no  right  to  interfere,  as  he  was  without 
command,  and  even  had  no  status  at  all  in  the  army,  at 
this  moment  perceived  that  if  the  attack  were  pressed 
home,  the  most  brilliant  results  might  be  expected. 
Without  asking  any  one's  permission,  mounting  his 
horse  he  galloped  away  to  the  scene  of  the  conflict. 
Gates,  fearful  that  his  impetuosity  might  lead  him  to 
undue  lengths,  sent  a  staff  officer  to  call  him  back. 
The  staff  officer  was  not  born  who  could  catch  Arnold 
that  day.  As  he  swept  down  along  the  American  lines 
the  men  recognized  him  as  their  fighting  leader,  and 
with  wild  cheers  followed  him  in  a  succession  of  des- 
perate charges  upon  the  shattered  British  column,  which 
began  a  precipitate  retreat  to  the  camp,  hard-pressed  by 
the  Americans. 

As  Arnold  was  the  senior  in  rank  on  the  field,  his  or- 
ders were  obeyed  everywhere  without  question.  He 
despatched  Morgan  to  attack  the  extreme  right  flank 
of  the  British  camp,  and  with  those  immediately  about 
him,  fell  like  a  storm  upon  the  lines  where  were  sta- 
tioned the  light  infantry  under  Balcarras.  The  men  of 
that  famous  regiment  stood  up  like  a  rock.  Seeing  the 
attempt  to  break  through  was  hopeless  there,  Arnold 
moved  on  to  his  left,  falling  upon  the  Canadian  con- 
tingent, routed  them,  crashed  into  Breyman's  Hessians, 
who  were  assailed  at  the  same  moment  by  Morgan's 
riflemen  on  the  other  flank,  and  who  gave  way  at  once. 
Arnold  raged  up  and  down  the  line  in  a  fury  of  battle, 
a  perfect  incarnation  of  war.  Well  had  it  been  for  him 
if  he  had  died  at  that  moment  on  that  bloody  field ! 
The  slaughter  among  the  British  was  dreadful.  Brey- 
man  himself  was  killed,  and  the  right  flank  of  the 
enemy's  camp  was  in  possession  of  the  Americans. 
At  this  moment  a  ball  from  a  rifle  fired  by  a  wounded 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  79 

German,  lying  on  the  ground,  struck  Arnold  in  the 
leg,  breaking  both  bones  and  killing  his  horse — one 
likes  to  think  that  Arnold  saved  the  life  of  the  man  who 
shot  him.  Reinforcements  from  the  other  flank  and 
the  center  of  the  British  camp  were  now  brought  up, 
and  the  Americans  finally  retired,  taking  with  them 
their  disabled  leader,  who  at  this  moment  was  over- 
taken by  the  staff  officer  carrying  Gates'  orders  to  re- 
turn! 

The  gathering  twilight  stopped  the  progress  of  the 
conflict,  called  the  Battle  of  Stillwater.  Had  Gates 
been  a  little  more  enterprising,  he  could  have  absolute- 
ly beaten  the  British  to  pieces  on  this  day.  It  was  the 
second  opportunity  he  had  lost.  Nothing  was  now  left 
for  Burgoyne  but  to  retreat.  He  gathered  up  his  army 
skilfully  enough,  leaving  his  sick  and  wounded  in 
camp,  and  precipitately  moved  back  to  Saratoga.  The 
American  army  followed  closely  upon  his  heels.  When 
Burgoyne  reached  Saratoga  he  found  a  force  of  three 
thousand  men  drawn  up  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  which  would  prevent  his  crossing. 

Fraser  had  died  the  morning  after  the  battle.  The 
journal  of  the  Baroness  Riedesel  who,  with  her  three 
little  children  endured  the  hardships  of  the  campaign, 
tells  of  the  fortitude  with  which  the  gallant  soldier  bore 
his  sufferings.  He  was  buried,  by  his  own  request,  on 
a  high  hill  in  the  center  of  the  camp,  at  six  o'clock  on 
the  evening  of  the  day  in  which  he  died,  Burgoyne 
delaying  his  retreat  to  carry  out  the  last  wishes  of  his 
friend.  He  was  carried  to  his  grave  by  the  grenadiers 
of  Ackland's  regiment  in  his  division.  Burgoyne  and 
his  principal  officers  stood  about  the  grave  while  the 
chaplain  of  the  grenadiers,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brudenell, 
calmly  read  the  burial  service.  The  cannon  of  the 


8o       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

American  batteries,  not  realizing  the  nature  of  the 
movement,  played  upon  the  little  group.  Bullets  struck 
so  near  as  to  actually  scatter  the  earth  over  the  chap- 
lain, who  continued  to  Tead  the  Church  service  in  his 
usual  calm  and  even  way.  Before  the  service  was  fin- 
ished the  Americans  discovered  what  the  British  were 
about  and,  in  honor  of  the  dead,  minutes  guns  were 
fired  until  the  burial  was  over,  when  the  business  of 
war  was  resumed  again. 

Lady  Harriet  Ackland,  the  wife  of  the  commander  of 
the  grenadiers,  who  had  devotedly  followed  the  army 
from  Quebec  and  nursed  her  husband  through  an  at- 
tack of  illness,  and  a  wound  received  at  Ticonderoga, 
now  applied  to  General  Burgoyne  for  a  pass  to  the 
American  lines  to  go  to  her  husband  who  had  been 
captured,  after  being  desperately  wounded  in  the  battle 
of  the  day  before.  Accompanied  by  the  plucky  chap- 
lain, Mr.  Brudenell,  in  the  dark,  rainy  night,  they 
rowed  down  the  river  to  the  American  camp.  Gates 
received  her  with  every  courtesy  and  permitted  her  to 
have  access  to  her  gallant  husband. 


III.    SARATOGA    AND    THE    SURRENDER 

THE  situation  in  the  British  camp  was  absolutely  hope- 
less ;  their  provisions  were  gone  and  there  was  no  water. 
The  American  riflemen  killed  every  man  who  attempted 
to  go  to  the  river  to  get  water,  and  it  was  not  until  a 
woman,  the  wife  of  a  British  soldier,  volunteered  and 
made  the  attempt,  that  they  got  even  a  scanty  supply — 
the  American  army  would  not  fire  upon  a  woman! 
The  American  batteries  raked  the  camp  with  their  shot, 
and  the  long  rifles  of  Morgan's  men  searched  out 


O    -33 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  81 

every  point — there  was  no  safety  any  place.  The  situa- 
tion was  now  plainly  unbearable.  On  the  eighth  of 
October  Burgoyne  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  Gates,  asking 
what  terms  would  be  accorded  him.  Burgoyne  indig- 
nantly refused  the  first  demand  that  he  surrender 
unconditionally,  and  after  further  argument,  on  the 
seventeenth  of  October  the  articles  were  signed  which 
were  called  "The  Convention  of  Saratoga." 

In  them  Gates, on  behalf  of  the  United  States, bound 
himself  to  the  effect,  that  after  the  British  army  had 
marched  out  with  the  honors  of  war,  they  should  pile 
their  arms  at  an  appointed  place  and  then  be  marched 
to  Boston,  whence  they  would  be  sent  back  to  England. 
The  arrangements  which  were  made  by  Gates,  to  give 
him  his  due,  were  marked  with  the  most  distinguished 
consideration.  When  Burgoyne,  a  tall,  imposing  man, 
brilliantly  attired  in  the  gorgeous  scarlet  and  gold 
uniform  of  the  British  army,  approached  the  small, 
unprepossessing  American  soldier,  in  his  plain  blue 
frock-coat,  he  handed  him  his  sword  and  said :  "The 
fortune  of  war,  General  Gates,  has  made  me  your  pris- 
oner." Gates  immediately  returned  the  sword  with  a 
profound  bow  and  the  gracious  remark,  "I  will  be 
ready  to  testify  that  it  was  through  no  fault  of  your 
Excellency."  Gates  had  been  a  major  in  the  British 
army  in  earlier  days,  where  he  had  served  with  some 
credit.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  received  the 
surrender  and  did  it  well  enough,  as  a  commander  he 
was  thoroughly  incompetent.  The  credit  of  the  vic- 
tory belongs  first  to  the  enterprising  and  devoted  pa- 
triotism of  Schuyler,  and  secondly  to  the  bold  work  of 
Arnold. 

One  or  two  statements  regarding  matters  under  con- 
sideration may  be  of  interest.  In  the  first  place,  the 


82       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

American  Congress  deliberately  and  wilfully,  and  with- 
out cause,  broke  faith  with  the  English,  and  the  articles 
of  the  convention  were  never  carried  out.  The  cap- 
tured army  was  taken  from  Boston  to  Virginia,  where 
they  were  held  as  prisoners  of  war.  Some  of  the  offi- 
cers were  exchanged  from  time  to  time,  but  the  army 
disintegrated  and,  as  a  body,  never  got  back  to  England. 
The  Baroness  Riedesel  and  her  three  children,  and  the 
other  women  also,  were  treated  with  the  most  delight- 
ful hospitality  and  courtesy  by  the  Americans,  whom 
they  ever  after  held  in  grateful  remembrance. 

Major  Ackland,  under  the  careful  nursing  of  his  de- 
voted wife,  recovered,  was  exchanged  and  went  back 
to  England.  Some  time  later,  while  at  a  dinner  party, 
he  undertook  to  resent  some  remarks  which  were 
made  in  disparagement  of  the  courage  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. A  duel  followed  in  which  Ackland  was  killed. 
Lady  Harriet  lost  her  reason  when  she  heard  the  news 
and  continued  insane  for  the  space  of  two  years. 
Would  that  the  romantic  chronicle  might  end  here. 
Alas!  When  she  recovered  she  married  again,  this 
time  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brudenell,  the  intrepid  chaplain! 
Thus  does  romance  veil  its  head  before  stern  fact. 
Some  have  ventured  to  suggest,  however,  that  Lady 
Harriet  had  not  fully  recovered  her  reason  when 
she  spoiled  her  charming  story  by  that  other  marriage. 

Talking  with  General  Lew  Wallace  one  day,  he  re- 
lated the  following  anecdote.  While  minister  of  the 
United  States  to  Turkey,  he  was  seated  with  some 
English  friends  looking  over  the  Golden  Horn.  A 
little  boat  flying  the  English  flag  crossed  their  field  of 
vision. 

"There,"  said  his  friend,  reflectively,  "is  a  flag 
which  has  never  been  surrendered  by  a  general  at  the 
head  of  an  army  on  a  field  of  battle  to  a  foreign  foe." 


The  Saratoga  Campaign  83 

"You  are  mistaken,"  said  Wallace,  quietly,  "I  recall 
two  instances." 

"What  are  they?" 

"Saratoga  and  Yorktown!" 

"Oh,"  said  the  Englishman,  quickly,  "you  are  our 
people.  They  do  not  count." 

But  they  did  count,  nevertheless,  very  highly;  for 
Sir  Edward  Creasy,  the  distinguished  historian, 
includes  Saratoga,  with  Marathon,  Arbela,  Tours, 
Blenheim,  Waterloo,  and  the  others,  among  the  fifteen 
decisive  battles  of  the  world !  Frederick  the  Great, 
trained,  experienced  soldier  and  statesman  that  he  was, 
had  seen  the  importance  and  value  of  Trenton  and 
Princeton.  The  most  ignorant  and  the  skeptical  could 
read  the  lesson  of  Saratoga.  It  wrote  in  large  letters 
the  prophecy  of  the  ultimate  success  of  the  American 
cause,  brought  about  the  open  alliance  with  France, 
and  paved  the  way  for  Yorktown. 


GREENE'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE 
CAROLINAS 


I.  THE  BEGINNING,  THE  COWPENS  AND  GUIL- 
FORD  COURT  HOUSE 

A  CAMPAIGN  which  for  brilliancy  in  conception  and 
success  in  working  out,  may  fairly  challenge  compari- 
son with  Washington's  Trenton  and  Princeton  cam- 
paign, was  that  of  General  Nathaniel  Greene  in  the 
Carolinas.  In  some  respects  I  would  even  award  it 
the  palm  over  Washington's  more  famous  New  Jersey 
manceuvers.  While  the  general  conditions  were  not  so 
desperate  and  the  issues  were  not  so  great,  in  that  fail- 
ure would  not  have  terminated  the  Revolution,  yet  lo- 
cally nothing  could  have  been  more  difficult,  nay,  impos- 
sible, than  the  problem  which  Greene  was  set  to  solve ; 
and  in  the  solving  of  which  he  demonstrated  his  right 
to  be  considered  after  Washington — and  not  far  after 
him  either — the  ablest  tactician,  the  most  brilliant  strat- 
egist, and  the  greatest  fighter  of  the  Revolution.  In- 
deed, we  have  come  down  to  the  Civil  War  to  find  his 
equal,  and  even  then  the  search  must  be  made  with 
some  care.  General  Scott,  for  instance,  who  gained  a 

84 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign         85 

much  greater  reputation  in  the  War  of  1812  and  in  the 
Mexican  War,  is  not  to  be  mentioned  in  the  same  breath 
with  this  Rhode  Island  blacksmith,  either  for  ability 
or  achievement;  he  does  not  compare  with  this  plain 
man  who  so  highly  educated  himself  by  his  own  unaid- 
ed efforts,  that,  for  relaxation  in  the  midst  of  desperate 
campaigns,  he  read  the  Latin  poets  in  the  original  by  the 
light  of  the  camp  fire,  and  annotated,  for  the  use  of  the 
army,  VatteFs  famous  treatise  called  "Droit  des  Gens !" 

He  began  his  service  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
and  was  never  out  of  the  harness  until  the  end.  He  and 
Washington  were  the  only  general  officers  present  at 
the  siege  of  Boston  who  remained  in  the  army  until  the 
British  withdrew  from  the  United  States  in  1783. 
He  fought  in  every  battle  in  which  Washington  com- 
manded, except  one,  until  he  went  South,  with  ever 
increasing  success  and  skill ;  and  although  he  had  no 
previous  military  experience  whatsoever,  he  developed 
himself,  by  observation,  study  and  reflection,  not  only 
into  the  strategist  which  he  naturally  was,  but  into  a 
brilliant  tactician  as  well — strategists  are  born,  tacti- 
cians largely  made.  His  tactics  on  the  field  of  battle 
were  as  great  as  was  his  strategy  in  his  campaigns. 
He  was  a  man  of  impetuous,  dashing  nature,  yet  he 
schooled  himself  and  so  checked  his  natural  impulses 
that  he  became  the  incarnation  of  caution.  It  is  difficult 
to  find  anything  to  blame  in  his  military  work  from  the 
beginning,  and  impossible  in  those  years  in  which  he 
exercised  independent  command.  His  plans  and  his 
methods  were  moulded  largely  after  those  of  Wash- 
ington himself.  No  man  could  be  more  wary,  more 
prompt,  or  more  bold  than  he,  when  the  exigency  de- 
manded the  one  course  or  the  other. 

When  the  British  under  Sir  Henry  Clinton  invaded 


86       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

South  Carolina  in  1780  and  finally  succeeded  in  cap- 
turing Charleston  on  the  twelfth  of  May,  thus  elimi- 
nating the  army  —  containing  over  two  thousand 
Continentals,  by  the  way,  which  Lincoln  had  foolishly 
permitted  to  be  cooped  up  in  Charleston — from  the 
campaign,  in  the  absence  of  any  other  organized  forces, 
they  easily  overran  Georgia  and  particularly  South 
Carolina.  In  order  to  make  secure  their  possession, 
they  established  a  number  of  well-fortified  posts  on 
every  hand,  the  more  important  being  located  at  Cam- 
den  and  Ninety-six,  in  North  Carolina,  and  Augusta, 
in  Georgia.  Lord  Cornwallis,  a  very  able  man,  was  left 
in  command  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  went  back  to 
New  York  under  the  impression  that  the  provinces 
south  of  Virginia  had  been  absolutely  and  finally  won 
back  to  the  crown.  Quite  an  unwarranted  conclusion, 
as  we  shall  see. 

After  the  capture  of  Charleston,  Washington,  though 
he  could  ill  spare  them  himself,  had  detached  a  splendid 
division  of  Continental  troops  under  the  Baron  DeKalb, 
a  most  capable  officer,  to  stem,  if  possible,  the  tide  of 
the  British  success  in  the  South,  and  form  a  nucleus 
upon  which  the  militia  of  the  invaded  sections  might 
rally.  In  opposition  to  his  wish,  Congress  had  desig- 
nated the  incompetent  Gates  for  the  command  of  these 
forces,  his  friends  expecting  him  to  repeat  what  they 
were  pleased  to  call  the  "Burgoynade"  of  his  Saratoga 
campaign,  in  the  South.  In  the  words  of  Charles  Lee, 
"His  Northern  laurels  changed  to  Southern  willows," 
and  in  the  disastrous  Battle  of  Camden  he  was  utterly 
and  entirely  defeated ;  said  defeat  being  due  to  his  own 
stupidity,  carelessness  and  gross  inefficiency  as  a  com- 
mander. The  Baron  De  Kalb  heroically  fought  with 
his  veterans,  whose  courage  and  devotion  somewhat 


r  :t 

- 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign         87 

redeemed  the  day,  until  he  fell  covered  with  sixteen 
wounds  and  died  a  prisoner  a  short  time  after  the  bat- 
tle was  over.  The  larger  part  of  his  veteran  division 
was  absolutely  annihilated,  a  smaller  part  cut  its  way 
out  of  the  British  lines  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  and 
effected  a  retreat.  The  generalship  of  Cornwallis  had 
been  excellent  and  the  conduct  of  his  troops  beyond 
question.  It  seemed  as  if  nothing  whatever  could  re- 
deem the  South  from  the  British  and  that  they  had  at 
last  established  themselves  securely  in  one  not  unim- 
portant portion  of  the  revolted  colonies. 

At  this  desperate  juncture,  Nathaniel  Greene,  Wash- 
ington's right  arm,  who  had  been  originally  chosen  by 
that  commander  for  the  purpose,  was  sent  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  department,  i.e.,  all  south  of  and  includ- 
ing the  State  of  Delaware.  Except  territory  he  had  but 
little  to  command.  Washington,  however,  generously 
detached  the  famous  legion  of  "Light  Horse  Harry 
Lee,"  composed  of  light  infantry  and  cavalry  from  his 
army,  and  sent  them  with  Greene.  He  also  sent  an- 
other small  squadron  of  horse — a  very  efficient  body — 
commanded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  William  A.  Wash- 
ington, a  kinsman  of  the  great  general  and  a  man  of  the 
same  school.  The  famous  Daniel  Morgan,  who  had 
withdrawn  from  the  army  on  account  of  his  ill-treat- 
ment in  the  matter  of  rank,  by  the  blundering  and  in- 
competent Congress,  rejoined  the  army  after  the  defeat 
at  Camden,  nobly  saying  that  an  occasion  of  such 
public  disaster  was  not  the  time  in  which  to  indulge 
private  griefs.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Otho  Williams,  an- 
other distinguished  soldier  and  cavalry  leader,  was  also 
attached  to  Greene's  skeleton  army,  the  nucleus  of 
which  was  the  famous  brigade  of  the  old  Maryland 
line,  which  had  escaped  after  Camden;  two  regiments 


88       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

of  troops,  about  six  hundred  in  number,  which  I  think 
did  more  and  better  service  than  any  other  in  the  Revo- 
lution ;  there  was  also  a  remnant  of  the  Delaware  regi- 
ment, another  good  lot  of  men.  In  addition  to  this 
nucleus  of  veterans,  a  very  efficient  auxiliary  existed 
in  the  Carolinas  in  the  shape  of  partizan  bands  of  ran- 
gers, who  were  led  by  such  men  as  Pinckney,  Sumter 
and  Marion,  than  whom  no  more  efficient  leaders  in 
the  sort  of  warfare  in  which  they  excelled  ever  bestrode 
a  horse,  laid  an  ambush,  or  headed  a  charge.  Gates 
had  been  inattentive  to  their  services  and  had  not 
recognized  the  possible  value  of  these  men.  Greene 
utilized  them  to  the  greatest  possible  extent,  and  their 
brilliant  and  daring  manoeuvers,  under  his  direction, 
contributed  as  much  as  anything  else  to  the  success 
of  his  campaign. 

Von  Steuben,  with  a  few  Continentals  and  the  Vir- 
ginia militia,  was  left  in  charge  of  the  operations  in 
the  State  of  Virginia  by  Greene  as  he  went  South. 
Before  he  arrived  in  the  South  to  supersede  Gates,  a 
body  of  one  thousand  men,  mostly  Tories,  led  by  Col- 
onel Patrick  Ferguson,  a  very  distinguished  officer, 
had  been  utterly  defeated  in  a  hand  to  hand  conflict  in 
a  strong  position  of  their  own  choosing  on  King's 
Mountain,  North  Carolina,  by  an  irregular  assemblage 
of  backwoodsmen,  who  had  assembled  for  the  purpose 
of  wiping  them  out,  and  who  dispersed  as  soon  as 
they  had  done  so.  Ferguson  was  killed,  with  three 
hundred  of  his  men,  and  the  remainder  were  made 
prisoners;  their  arms  and  equipments  being  of  great 
value  to  the  Americans — indeed,  during  this  campaign, 
the  Americans  lived  off  the  country  and  armed  off  the 
enemy!  Inasmuch  as  this  was  the  force  which  Corn- 
wallis  had  intended  to  use  as  a  flying  column  to  keep 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign         89 

himself  in  touch  with  the  chain  of  posts  he  had  estab- 
lished on  the  borders  of  the  State,  its  loss  was  felt  by 
him  rather  severely,  though,  of  course,  it  was  neither 
vital  nor  irreparable,  especially  as  he  was  soon  rein- 
forced by  a  large  body  of  troops  despatched  from  New 
York  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  When  Greene  arrived 
at  Hillsboro,  North  Carolina,  in  December,  1780,  he 
found  about  two  thousand  men  had  assembled.  Corn- 
wallis,  with  the  main  body  of  the  British,  numbering 
about  three  thousand  men,  was  at  Camden.  Large  de- 
tachments garrisoned  the  posts  at  Ninety-six  and  Au- 
gusta, and  smaller  ones  were  scattered  about  at  various 
forts  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  such  as  Granby, 
Motte,  Watson  and  others. 

The  British  had  carried  things  with  a  high  hand  in 
their  conquests  and  had  actually  attempted  to  force 
the  inhabitants  either  to  enter  the  British  service  or  to 
be  declared  rebels.  The  policy  was  disastrous,  as  it 
raised  up  for  the  British  a  host  of  enemies,  for  many  of 
the  otherwise  peaceable  inhabitants,  if  they  had  to 
fight,  naturally  preferred  to  fight  for,  rather  than 
against,  their  own.  Colonel  Banastre  Tarleton,  a  very 
capable  and  enterprising  young  man,  who  commanded 
Cornwallis'  cavalry,  had  made  himself  particularly  ob- 
noxious by  his  method  of  carrying  out  his  harsh  orders 
and,  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  had  divided 
themselves  between  the  British  and  the  Americans, 
they  added  the  usual  neighborhood  animosities  to  the 
political  differences  which  separated  them;  and  hang- 
ing, plundering  and  outraging  in  every  way  were  evi- 
dences of  the  hatreds  engendered,  as  always,  in  the 
internecine  conflict  which  was  waged. 

Since  two  complete  American  armies  had  been  cap- 
tured or  destroyed  by  the  British,  Greene  had  the  great- 


90       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

est  difficulty  in  collecting  more  than  two  thousand  men. 
The  American  force  was  not  only  smaller  in  number 
but  it  was  not  to  be  compared  in  quality  to  that  of 
Cornwallis',  whose  troops  included  some  of  the  finest 
of  the  British  army — as  was  shown  by  their  fighting 
on  every  field  on  which  they  were  engaged — the  chief 
of  which  were  two  battalions  of  the  famous  "House- 
hold Guards."  Cornwallis  had  no  illusions  whatever 
regarding  Greene.  "He  is  as  dangerous  as  Washing- 
ton," he  wrote  to  a  friend.  He  knew  his  quality ;  he  had 
felt  his  attack  and  witnessed  his  tactics  on  many  a  hard 
fought  field  in  the  Revolution.  He  remembered  him 
at  Trenton;  he  recalled  how  he  had  brought  up  his 
division  on  the  run  for  four  miles,  charging  "toward 
the  sound  of  the  cannon"  at  Brandy  wine.  He  knew 
that  Greene  and  his  officers  had  been  trained  in  the 
school  of  the  great  Washington — for  whom  the  earl 
had  conceived  the  most  profound  respect — and  he  re- 
solved to  employ  all  the  skill  and  address  of  which  he 
was  capable  to  defeat  this  new  enemy,  leaving  nothing 
undone  to  accomplish  his  purpose;  so  the  two  armies 
faced  each  other,  neither,  for  the  moment,  daring  to 
take  the  initiative.  For  Greene  knew  that  Cornwallis 
was  the  ablest  of  the  British  commanders  also,  and  he 
could  not  afford  to  take  even  ordinary  chances.  They 
were  like  two  wary  fencers  who  have  just  crossed 
swords  and  are  gently  moving  the  blades  up  and  down, 
looking  for  the  necessary  opening,  neither  being  will- 
ing to  disengage  for  fear  of  the  other. 

But  the  pause  could  not  be  allowed  to  last  long; 
every  day  strengthened  the  British  hold  on  the  South 
and  made  his  own  task  harder,  so  it  was  incumbent 
upon  Greene  to  do  something.  He  could  not  attack 
with  any  possibility  of  success,  and  he  had  before  him 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign         91 

one  supreme  necessity,  which  was,  that  at  whatever 
hazard  and  under  whatever  circumstances,  he  must  pre- 
serve his  army  intact.  So  long  as  he  had  an  army, 
even  a  little  one,  the  British  were  not  safe  in  their  posi- 
tions ;  but  that  last  army  once  destroyed  and  dispersed, 
there  was  no  further  resource.  After  careful  thought 
he  came  to  a  determination;  first  despatching  Marion 
and  Sumter  to  harry  the  flanks  and  communications 
of  the  British  and  cut  off  the  scattered  detachments 
and  bodies  of  loyalist  reinforcements  in  the  rear  of  the 
enemy — which  they  did  with  thoroughness  and  preci- 
sion— and  throwing  Williams  to  skirmish  in  Cornwal- 
lis'  face,  he  decided  to  divide  his  little  army  into  two 
great  partizan  bands.  To  do  this  was  contrary  to  the 
usual  laws  of  strategy,  but  the  conditions  were  peculiar 
and  anomalous,  and  subsequent  events  showed  the  wis- 
dom of  his  action.  He  gave  Daniel  Morgan  about  nine 
hundred  men,  including  the  Maryland  Continentals, 
Washington's  cavalry  and  some  North  Carolina  mili- 
tia, and  sent  him  off  toward  the  British  left,  where  he 
threatened  in  force  Cornwallis'  rear.  Greene,  with 
the  main  body  of  eleven  hundred  men,  hurried  down  to 
the  South  and  began  that  series  of  perplexing  and  an- 
noying marchings  and  countermarchings  in  which  he 
became  such  a  master ;  playing  a  game  of  hide-and-seek 
with  the  English  on  a  large  scale  and  never  getting 
caught. 

Cornwallis  hesitated  to  move  forward  to  attack 
Greene  lest  he  should  have  Morgan  down  upon  his 
rear.  He  also  hesitated  to  turn  and  crush  Morgan  lest 
he  should  have  Greene  upon  his  rear ;  also  he  could  not 
leave  Camden  unprotected  on  account  of  the  large 
quantity  of  stores  and  supplies  there.  His  position 
was,  therefore,  a  difficult  one.  He  finally  determined 


92       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

to  follow  Greene's  example  and  divide  his  force,  so  he 
despatched  Tarleton  with  eleven  hundred  men  to  take 
care  of  Morgan,  left  a  strong  body  under  Leslie  at 
Camden,  and  moved  out  to  attack  Greene,  when,  or  if, 
he  could  catch  him.  But  the  wary  American  had  no 
intention  of  being  attacked,  and  manoeuvering  his  light 
force — which  was  without  baggage  or  tents,  or  even 
shoes  for  that  matter,  such  was  their  destitution — with 
great  skill,  he  never  permitted  Cornwallis  to  force  an 
action.  He  was  here  to-day  and  there  to-morrow, 
never  remaining  more  than  a  night  in  one  spot;  it  was 
humiliating  and  exasperating  to  be  always  on  the  run, 
but  it  succeeded  admirably.  Cornwallis  and  his  men 
were  kept  fearfully  busy,  and  accomplished  nothing 
except  to  weary  themselves  in  body  and  spirit. 

Meanwhile  Tarleton  had  impetuously  dashed  away 
after  Morgan.  Morgan,  a  man  of  humble  extraction, 
the  son  of  a  day-laborer,  but  of  great  native  ability, 
was  one  of  the  striking  figures  of  the  Revolution.  He 
had  been  a  wagoner  in  Braddock's  unfortunate  expedi- 
tion, had  felt  the  British  lash  upon  his  back  for  striking 
a  comrade — he  never  forgot  the  feel  of  it,  either,  and 
paid  back  every  stroke  a  thousandfold — had  been 
given  a  commission  for  distinguished  gallantry  in  that 
battle,  and  so  made  his  way  upward.  When  the  Revo- 
lution broke  out  he  led  a  splendid  corps  of  backwoods 
riflemen  "from  the  right  bank  of  the  Potomac"  to 
Washington's  army.  He  had  participated  in  many 
desperate  actions  from  Quebec  to  Saratoga  and  had 
served  always  with  the  greatest  distinction  and  success. 
Morgan  had  emulated  Greene's  tactics — he  was  an  old 
backwoodsman,  and  could  do  it  to  perfection — until  he 
was  ready  to  give  battle;  and  he  led  Tarleton  a  long, 
perverse  chase  until  he  was  almost  worn  out;  then  he 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign         93 

resolved  to  hazard  an  action  at  the  Cowpens.  It  was  a 
small  affair  in  point  of  the  numbers  engaged — all  the 
battles  of  the  campaign  were  that — but  tactically  it  was 
an  unusually  brilliant  combat.  Morgan  selected  as 
a  place  to  fight  a  slight  acclivity  behind  which  an  un- 
fordable  river,  the  Broad,  bent  in  a  wide  circle.  The 
ground  was  open  or  but  thinly  wooded.  There  was 
no  possibility  of  retreat.  He  said  that  he  wanted  his 
militia  to  feel  that  there  was  no  method  of  getting 
away,  they  would  have  to  fight  or  die.  If  he  had  pos- 
sessed any  boats,  no  doubt,  like  Cortez,  he  would  have 
burned  them.  There  were  no  marshes  about  into  which 
the  possible  retreaters  could  plunge,  there  was  no  open 
country  through  which  they  could  break  in  wild  panic 
as  they  had  done  at  Camden  and  elsewhere.  The  night 
before  the  probable  battle  Morgan  clearly  explained 
his  plan  to  his  officers,  and  then  walked  up  and  down 
among  the  men,  stopping  at  the  various  camp  fires,  and 
in  plain,  homely  phrase  talked  over  the  matter  with 
them,  animating  them  with  his  own  heroic  purpose, 
and  promising  them,  with  their  assistance,  that  the  old 
"wagoner  would  crack  his  whip  over  Tarleton,"  etc. 

Word  had  been  brought  to  Tarleton,  through  Mor- 
gan's connivance,  that  the  Americans  proposed  to  wait 
for  him,  and  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  January 
17,  1781,  he  put  his  men  in  motion  to  take  them  by  sur- 
prise. He  was  not  early  enough  to  catch  the  old  hunter 
napping,  however,  for  when  he  appeared  upon  the  scene 
Morgan  had  his  force  under  arms  and  was  ready 
for  the  attack.  He  had  the  militia  drawn  up  in  line 
about  three  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  hill.  Above 
them  on  the  hill  he  had  drawn  up  the  Continental 
line ;  on  the  bank  of  the  river  and  screened  by  the  brow 
of  the  hill  from  the  observation  of  the  enemy,  was  the 


94       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

cavalry  under  Washington  in  reserve.  Morgan  had 
ridden  up  and  down  the  line  commanding  and  exhort- 
ing the  militia  to  fire  at  least  two  well-aimed  volleys, 
when  he  would  permit  them  to  retreat,  if  the  British 
advanced,  around  the  left  flank  of  the  Continentals, 
and  re-form  in  safety  back  of  the  hill ;  imploring  them 
for  the  sake  of  their  country  and  their  homes  to  heed 
his  words,  deliver  the  two  volleys  and  retire  slowly 
in  good  order,  preserving  their  ranks.  They  promised 
to  do  so.  He  also  cautioned  the  Continentals  that  the 
militia  would  retire  and  bade  them  withhold  their  fire 
until  the  order  was  given,  and  he  further  admonished 
Washington  to  be  on  the  alert  with  his  cavalry  all  the 
time,  but  to  make  no  move  until  directed. 

Tarleton's  men,  who  had  been  marching  half  the 
night  over  the  muddy  roads,  were  tired  out,  but  their 
restless  leader  gave  them  no  opportunity  for  rest.  Just 
as  the  sun  rose  he  came  in  sight  of  the  American  camp 
and  immediately  sounded  the  charge.  The  British 
rushed  through  the  woods  and  fell  on  the  militia  under 
Pickens,  who,  remarkable  to  state,  stood  up  manfully 
and  delivered  not  only  one  or  two,  but  several  well- 
aimed  volleys  before  they  retired  in  good  order  around 
the  left  flank.  The  British  had  become  somewhat  dis- 
organized in  the  attack,  but  they  were  led  forward  by 
the  dashing  Tarleton  himself,  with  the  utmost  brav- 
ery, and  their  superior  numbers  permitted  them  to 
overlap  the  right  flank  of  the  Continental  line.  Mor- 
gan, to  prevent  this  flank,  refused  his  line,  and  to  do 
that  it  became  necessary  for  the  Continentals  there  to 
withdraw  a  little.  The  British  mistaking  the  movement, 
which  was  successfully  carried  out  under  fire  by  the 
Marylanders  under  John  Eager  Howard,  for  a  retreat, 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign         95 

rushed  forward  shouting  victory.  When  Howard  had 
reached  his  proper  position,  he  immediately  turned 
about  and  delivered  a  volley  at  close  range,  and  rushed 
forward  with  the  bayonet. 

At  this  juncture,  by  Morgan's  orders,  Washington's 
cavalry  dashed  around  the  hill  and  fell  upon  the  Brit- 
ish right,  the  Continentals  opposite  the  British  center 
advancing  at  the  same  time.  Meanwhile  the  militia, 
elated  by  their  successful  resistance,  had  been  re- 
formed at  the  back  of  the  hill  by  the  heroic  Pickens, 
and  came  on  the  field  on  the  dead  run,  circling  around 
the  left  flank  of  the  British  just  where  they  were  being 
severely  pressed  by  Howard.  Old  Morgan  at  once 
ordered  a  general  advance  and  the  British  forces  were 
surrounded.  The.  Continentals  broke  their  ranks  with 
a  deadly  fire  at  thirty  yards  and  rushed  upon  them  in 
a  stern  bayonet  charge.  The  greater  part  of  the  Brit- 
ish army  threw  down  its  arms  and  surrendered  at  once. 
Six  hundred  prisoners  were  taken,  and  only  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  escaped  from  the  conflict,  Tarleton 
being  among  them.  He  only  got  away  after  a  furious 
hand  to  hand  conflict  with  Washington  in  which  he 
was  wounded.  The  British  lost  about  three  hundred 
in  killed  and  wounded,  two  field  pieces  and  one  thou- 
sand stand  of  arms,  two  colors,  thirty-four  wagons, 
one  hundred  horses  and  a  large  number  of  tents,  all 
very  useful  indeed  as  the  Americans  were  mainly 
without  them.  The  victory  was  complete  and  deci- 
sive. The  Americans  had  absolutely  captured  or  killed 
more  than  their  entire  force  engaged.  The  tactics 
of  Morgan  had  been  crowned  with  the  most  bril- 
liant success.  He  had  so  manceuvered  that  with  an 
inferior  force  he  had  literally  surrounded  and  captured 


96       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

a  larger  force  opposing  him,  and  he  had  actually  made 
his  militia  fight !  His  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  only 
amounted  to  seventy-three. 

The  tidings  reached  Green  and  Cornwallis  about  the 
same  time.  Cornwallis  immediately  made  for  the 
fords  of  the  Catawba  to  intercept  Morgan  and  his  men. 
During  this  period,  however,  and  it  was  the  only  oc- 
casion during  the  campaign  that  he  did  not  move  with 
his  accustomed  celerity,  he  hesitated  and  appeared 
undecided.  Greene  at  once  put  the  main  body  of  his 
army  in  motion  under  the  command  of  General  Huger, 
and  told  him  to  move  north  at  all  speed,  collecting  all 
the  boats  as  he  went,  while  he  himself,  attended  by  a 
single  officer  and  an  orderly,  rode  at  full  speed  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  join  Morgan.  By  desperate 
marching  Morgan,  though  he  had  the  greater  distance 
to  cover,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  fords  of  the  Cataw- 
ba, where  Greene  found  him,  and  crossed  with  all  his 
prisoners  and  booty  before  Cornwallis  arrived  there. 
Then  the  British  commander  at  last  waked  up.  Sum- 
moning all  his  detachments  to  his  aid,  he  started  on  a 
furious  pursuit  of  the  Americans,  led  by  Greene  and 
Morgan.  There  never  was  such  desperate  marching. 
Greene  gathered  up  the  boats  as  he  went,  destroying 
those  he  could  not  use,  and  actually  mounting  the  rest 
on  wheels  like  wagons!  Cornwallis  was  close  on  the 
heels  of  his  enemy  all  the  time  and,  in  spite  of  the  dis- 
advantages under  which  he  labored,  he  almost  caught 
him  on  several  occasions.  To  accelerate  his  move- 
ments, the  British  commander  burned  all  but  the  ab- 
solutely necessary  baggage  and  followed  hard  the  re- 
treating Americans.  Leaving  Morgan  to  push  ahead, 
Greene  essayed  to  rouse  the  militia,  but  with  little 
success,  as  Cornwallis  was  too  quick  for  him  and 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign         97 

too  close  on  his  heels  to  give  them  time  to  as- 
semble. We  get  a  fine  picture  of  the  desperate  straits 
to  which  the  Americans  were  reduced  in  effecting 
their  escape  and  the  fierce  energy  of  the  pursuit,  when 
we  see  Greene  riding  up  late  at  night  in  a  drenching 
rain  to  the  tavern  at  Salisbury  on  the  night  of  February 
first,  after  receiving  the  news  that  one  detachment  of 
militia,  upon  which  he  had  counted  to  dispute  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Catawba,  had  been  cut  to  pieces  and  its 
commander  killed,  and  that  Cornwallis  had  almost 
reached  Morgan.  The  tavern  keeper  expressed  sur- 
prise at  seeing  him  alone. 

"Yes,"  he  said  sadly,  ''tired,  hungry,  alone  and  pen- 
niless!" 

But  it  takes  such  conditions  to  develop  some  men 
best,  and  Greene,  like  Washington,  was  never  so  dan- 
gerous as  when  he  was  pushed  to  the  wall ;  the  British 
were  to  learn  that  presently.  Cornwallis  was  unable 
to  prevent  the  junction  of  the  two  armies  near  Guil- 
ford  Court  House,  but  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
outnumbered,  he  still  persisted  in  the  pursuit.  Greene's 
forethought  and  his  traveling  boats  enabled  him  to 
make  his  escape,  and  Cornwallis  was  foiled  at  the 
Catawba,  the  Yadkin  and  the  Dan  in  quick  succession. 
Finally,  when  he  had  driven  Greene  into  Virginia,  as 
he  was  far  away  from  his  base  of  supplies,  and  as  he 
was  in  great  need  of  that  baggage  which  he  had  burned 
some  time  since,  he  gave  over  the  pursuit,  saying  that 
he  had  successfully  forced  the  enemy  out  of  the  State, 
which  was  perfectly  true.  This  was  the  first  act  of  the 
drama.  Things  looked  dark  for  the  Americans  then. 
They  did  not  intend  to  stay  forced  out,  however,  and 
the  second  act  began  when  the  indefatigable  Greene 
recrossed  the  Dan  and  moved  out  on  the  heels  of, 


98       American  Fights  and  Fighters 

though  at  a  safe  distance  from,  Cornwallis,  who  began 
to  move  slowly  to  the  southward  to  reach  his  base  of 
supplies  again. 

By  detachments  of  militia  and  a  brigade  of  Virginia 
Continentals,  who  were  mostly  raw  troops,  Greene's 
force  was  increased  to  something  like  four  thousand 
men,  and  with  it  he  resolved  to  give  battle  at  Guilford 
Court  House.  Cornwallis  was  nothing  loath  to  engage, 
indeed,  he  was  desperately  anxious  for  a  fight,  by 
which  he  trusted  to  retrieve  his  somewhat  precarious 
situation.  On  the  morning  of  March  fifteenth,  Greene 
drew  up  his  men  in  three  lines;  the  North  Carolina 
militia  in  the  first,  the  Virginia  militia  in  the  second, 
the  famous  Marylanders  in  the  third,  which  was  placed 
on  the  top  of  a  hill,  and  the  Virginia  Continentals  in 
reserve.  Lee's  legion  was  on  one  flank  of  the  first  line, 
Washington's  cavalry  and  some  Delaware  riflemen  on 
the  other,  and  Singleton's  two  guns  in  the  center. 
Cornwallis  had  about  twenty-two  hundred  men,  the 
best  in  the  service.  Their  fighting  that  day  was  simply 
magnificent.  He  boldly  attacked  the  first  line  early  in 
the  morning.  Most  of  the  battalions  comprising  it 
fled  without  firing  a  shot,  as  usual.  Singleton  with- 
drew with  his  guns  on  the  run.  The  legion  and 
cavalry  and  the  riflemen  retreated  on  the  second  line, 
which  stood  firm  and  actually  checked  the  British 
advance  for  a  time,  but  the  heroic  Englishmen  pressed 
forward  with  the  bayonet  and  finally  succeeded  in 
breaking  the  line.  Detached  parties  engaged  the  rifle- 
men, the  cavalry  and  the  legion,  and  gradually  drove 
them  down  the  field,  separating  them  in  the  center. 
Meanwhile  the  main  body  of  the  British  rushed  for 
that  part  of  the  hill  held  by  the  Second  Maryland ;  this 
regiment,  not  so  good  a  one  as  the  First,  was  broken  by 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign         99 

the  furious  British  attack  and  the  two  guns  belonging 
to  it  were  captured. 

Greene  immediately  threw  the  First  Maryland  into 
the  breach  and  they  recaptured  the  guns  by  a  dashing 
bayonet  charge  which  pierced  the  British  center.  At 
the  same  time  Lee  and  Washington,  who  had  succeed- 
ed in  getting  clear  of  their  antagonists,  fell  simultane- 
ously on  the  British  flanks.  The  British  line  was 
broken  in  the  center  and  began  to  give  ground  slightly, 
in  the  face  of  the  furious  American  attack.  To  stay 
their  retreat,  Cornwallis  brought  his  artillery  into  ac- 
tion and,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  his  officers, 
fired  at  the  approaching  Americans  through  the  lines 
of  his  own  troops,  some  of  whom  were  killed  by  shot 
from  their  own  guns.  It  was  a  desperate  measure,  but 
the  exigency  of  the  situation  warranted  it.  Cornwallis 
now  put  in  his  reserves  and  Tarleton's  cavalry  and  the 
advance  of  the  Americans  was  first  checked  and  then 
they  retreated  back  to  the  hill  in  disorder. 

By  great  exertions  Cornwallis  re-formed  his  lines 
and,  concentrating  them,  advanced  his  artillery,  which 
continued  to  play  upon  the  broken  Americans  with 
great  effect.  The  Virginia  Continentals  had  not  yet 
been  actively  engaged.  It  is  possible  that  if  Greene 
had  thrown  them  in  at  this  moment,  he  might  have 
crushed  Cornwallis  and  won  the  day.  Whether  or  no 
it  could  have  been  done  is  a  grave  problem.  The  Vir- 
ginians were  green  hands  and  the  British  were  veterans 
already  flushed  with  success.  If  the  Virginians  failed 
in  their  attack,  Greene's  army  would  be  ruined.  His 
personal  preference  would  have  been  to  put  in  every 
last  man  and  try  out  the  issue  to  the  bitter  end,  but  the 
loss  of  the  army  would  mean  the  loss  of  everything, 
and,  bitterly  against  his  inclination,  as  the  British  ad- 


ioo     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

vanced,  he  gave  the  order  to  retreat.  It  was  a  sad  mo- 
ment for  the  young  commander,  but  stern  and  inexora- 
ble necessity  dictated  his  course.  That  retreat  at  the 
crisis  of  that  still  undecided  battle  was  much  more 
heroic  and  evidenced  more  courage  and  generalship 
than  anything  else  he  could  have  done.  The  British 
were  too  badly  shattered  to  pursue,  and  Greene  with- 
drew to  the  northward  in  good  order,  taking  his  guns 
with  him — they  had  done  well,  but  they  had  been 
defeated. 

We  have  to  look  along  the  pages  of  history  for  a 
hundred  years  to  find  such  fighting  as  the  whole  British 
army  did  on  one  side,  and  as  the  famous  First  Mary- 
land did  on  the  other,  on  that  day,  and  we  do  not  find 
it  until  we  come  to  old  Thomas  at  Chickamauga.  It 
was  a  glorious  and  splendid  victory  for  Cornwallis 
and  his  outnumbered  army,  but  the  winning  of  it  cost 
him  dear.  He  had  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  over  six 
hundred  men,  more  than  one- fourth  of  his  total  force ! 
"A  few  more  victories  like  that  and  we  are  undone," 
said  Fox,  when  he  heard  the  news.  The  situation  of 
Cornwallis  was  now  more  precarious  than  ever,  in  spite 
of  his  triumph.  He  had  almost  expended  his  supply  of 
ammunition,  he  was  over  two  hundred  miles  away 
from  his  base  of  supplies,  Marion  and  Sumter  were 
pressing  heavily  upon  his  flanks,  Williams  was  skir- 
mishing boldly  in  front,  and  he  found  himself  actually 
compelled  to  retreat.  But  where  should  he  go  ?  Tore- 
turn  to  Charleston  was  intolerable.  He  finally  deter- 
mined upon  making  his  way  to  the  seaboard,  whence 
he  could  communicate  with  headquarters  and  look  for 
assistance  from  the  fleet.  So  on  the  third  day  after 
the  battle,  leaving  his  sick  and  wounded,  he  put  his 
army  in  motion  for  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  leav- 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign       101 

ing  the  command  of  the  troops  in  South  Carolina  to 
Lord  Rawdon.  The  decision  was  really  forced  upon 
him;  he  did  not  dare  to  attempt  the  long  march  back 
to  South  Carolina  in  his  condition,  and  there  is  where 
Greene  displayed  another  touch  of  his  splendid  strat- 
egy. He  surmised  that  Cornwallis  could  only  go  one 
of  two  ways  when  he  reached  the  seaboard,  i.  e.,  back 
to  Charleston,  where  he  wanted  him  to  be,  or  up  to 
Virginia,  where  he  could  be  brought  in  contact  with 
the  terrible  Washington.  Therefore,  instead  of  fol- 
lowing Cornwallis,  Greene  at  once  gathered  up  his 
army  and  thrust  himself  boldly  between  the  two  British 
commanders ;  leaving  Cornwallis  to  pursue  his  way  un- 
hindered and  unpursued,  he  at  once  turned  south  to 
fall  upon  Rawdon.  The  American  commander  had 
actually  forced  Cornwallis  out  of  the  field  and  elimi- 
nated him  and  his  army  from  future  operations !  When 
the  astonished  earl  found  out  that  he  was  not  being 
followed,  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  retrace  his  steps, 
and  with,  I  imagine,  a  heavy  heart,  he  made  his  way 
into  Virginia.  We  shall  see  what  became  of  him  there 
later  on. 


II.  HOBKIRK'S  HILL,  EUTAW  SPRINGS  AND 

THE    END 

AFTER  carefully  considering  the  situation,  Greene  de- 
termined upon  his  course  of  action.  Pickens  was 
directed,  with  his  partizan  band,  to  threaten  the  left 
flank  of  the  British  lines  at  Ninety-six,  Marion  and 
Lee  were  to  move  upon  the  small  posts  on  the  right 
flank  between  Camden  and  Charleston,  Sumter  was  to 
operate  in  the  rear,  while  he,  himself,  with  the  four 
Continental  regiments — two  Maryland  and  two  Vir- 
ginia— and  Washington's  cavalry  moved  down  to  attack 
the  center.  The  campaign  was  planned  with  the  great- 
est skill  and  care,  and  though  the  forces  were  inconsid- 
erable— Greene's  whole  command  scarcely  amounting 
to  fifteen  hundred  men — the  game  was  played  as  bril- 
liantly and  the  results  are  as  instructive  to  the  student 
of  military  matters  as  if  the  armies  had  been  as  great  as 
that  of  Xerxes.  On  the  sixth  of  April  the  march  be- 
gan. Marion  and  Lee  at  once  struck  for  Fort  Watson, 
an  irregular  stockade  which  had  been  erected  on  an  old 
Indian  mound  which  dominated  the  plain  for  several 
miles  around.  It  was  defended  by  one  hundred  and 

102 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign       103 

twenty  soldiers,  under  Lieutenant  McKay.  Neither 
Marion  nor  McKay  had  any  artillery,  and  rifle  fire  was 
of  course  ineffective  against  the  stockade.  Marion 
cut  off  the  water  supply,  but  McKay  dug  a  well.  The 
fort  had  been  amply  provisioned,  and  the  Americans 
were  in  a  dilemma.  Finally  it  occurred  to  one  of  the 
officers,  a  certain  Colonel  Maham,  to  build  a  wooden 
tower  high  enough  to  command  the  fort — it  was  an 
undertaking  as  old  as  Caesar.  The  country  was  heavily 
wooded  and  the  stalwart  men  quickly  acted  upon  the 
idea.  When  day  broke  on  April  twenty-third  the  as- 
tonished garrison  saw  that  their  position  was  com- 
manded by  a  high  wooden  tower  which  had  been 
erected  during  the  night.  Its  top  was  covered  with  men 
who  were  protected  by  heavy  planking  from  their  fire, 
and  who  picked  them  off  at  leisure.  At  its  foot  was  a 
breastwork  lined  with  riflemen ;  a  sortie  to  destroy  the 
tower  was  out  of  the  question.  There  was  nothing  to  do 
but  surrender,  and  they  accordingly  hauled  down  their 
flag.  The  success  at  Fort  Watson  was  repeated  by 
Marion  at  Forts  Motte  and  Granby.  On  the  other  side, 
Sumter  took  Orangeburg  and  various  small  posts,  and 
cleared  the  country.  Pickens  and  his  militia  raided 
the  country,  destroying  parties  of  royalists  in  every 
direction,  and  constantly  hovered  about  Ninety-six. 
To  anticipate  a  little,  on  the  fifth  of  June,  the  post  at 
Augusta,  after  a  most  obstinate  and  desperate  defense, 
was  captured  by  Lee  and  his  partizans. 

The  British  had  now  nothing  left  except  Camden 
and  Ninety-six.  Since  the  defeat  of  the  previous  year 
the  post  at  Camden  had  been  carefully  fortified  and 
strengthened,  and  when  Greene  moved  down  to  it  on 
the  twenty-fifth  of  April,  he  found  it  too  strong  for 
attack  by  his  little  force  of  about  eleven  hundred  men, 


IO4     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

so  he  withdrew  and  took  up  a  strong  position  on  an 
elevation  called  Hobkirk's  Hill,  a  few  miles  north 
of  the  town.  Rawdon,  who  was  in  command  of  all  the 
British  forces,  at  once  determined  to  attack  him.  Early 
in  the  morning  of  April  twenty-fifth  he  moved  out 
with  his  whole  force,  numbering  a  few  more  than  nine 
hundred  men.  Greene  had  drawn  up  his  four  regi- 
ments in  line  upon  the  hill,  the  two  Virginia  regiments 
on  the  right  and  the  two  Maryland  on  the  left.  The 
North  Carolina  militia,  small  in  numbers  and  poor  in 
quality  in  this  instance,  were  placed  in  the  rear  of  the 
hill.  Washington's  squadron  of  cavalry  was  stationed 
in  reserve.  What  remained  of  the  Delaware  regiment 
was  thrown  out  on  the  picket  line. 

The  British  came  on  gallantly,  led  by  Rawdon  in 
person.  As  they  struggled  up  the  road  and  through 
the  narrow  clearing  before  the  American  position, 
Greene  determined,  since  he  had  the  most  men,  to 
flank  them.  He  therefore  swung  the  Virginia  and 
Maryland  regiments  on  each  end  of  his  line  in  to- 
ward the  British  column,  at  the  same  time  ordering 
a  general  advance.  Washington  meanwhile  was  di- 
rected to  sweep  around  the  British  left  and  attack 
their  rear.  He  did  this  with  brilliant  success,  cap- 
turing over  two  hundred  men  of  Rawdon's  little  army, 
including  all  the  surgeons.  The  North  Carolina 
militia  were  also  ordered  to  advance,  which  they  did 
reluctantly. 

The  little  battle  on  the  side  of  the  hill  was  joined 
with  the  utmost  fury.  The  outnumbered  British  dis- 
played their  usual  resolution  and  bravely  advanced  in 
the  face  of  a  furious  discharge  of  grape  from  Greene's 
two  guns.  The  attack  of  the  Americans,  however, 
was  proving  too  much  for  the  British  and  they  com- 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign       105 

menced  to  give  ground,  though  still  preserving  good 
order  and  battling  furiously.  At  this  juncture,  Cap- 
tain Beatty,  leading  the  charge  of  the  famous  First 
Maryland,  was  killed.  His  company  of  Continentals 
halted  and  under  a  bitter  return  charge  led  by  the  in- 
trepid Rawdon,  they  gave  ground  a  little.  The  veteran 
commander  of  the  regiment  seems  to  have  lost  his  head 
at  this  moment,  for  he  gave  the  order  to  fall  back, 
intending,  as  he  said,  to  form  a  new  line  on  the  com- 
pany which  had  given  ground;  but  it  is  a  bad  thing 
to  order  a  regiment  to  fall  back  during  a  battle,  and 
these  famous  veterans,  who  had  shown  their  mettle  on 
nearly  every  field  in  the  Revolution,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered the  very  flower  of  the  famous  Continental  line, 
hastily  broke  and  ran.  Rawdon  was  quick  to  see  his 
advantage  and  the  attack  was  pressed  more  vigorous- 
ly than  ever.  The  defection  of  the  Marylanders,  who 
had  been  to  Greene  what  the  Tenth  Legion  had  been  to 
Caesar,  was  simply  heart-breaking,  and  it  occurred  at 
the  very  moment  when  victory  was  within  their  grasp. 
The  panic  unsettled  the  other  regiments,which  had  done 
so  well,  and  there  was  a  moment  of  indecision  all  along 
the  line — another  moment  or  two  and  the  army  would 
have  been  routed. 

The  Americans  were  wavering  and  retiring  and  the 
fight  had  reached  their  guns.  Greene  was  in  the  very 
thick  of  it,  as  was  Rawdon,  and  both  narrowly  escaped 
being  killed.  The  efforts  the  two  men  made  were  pro- 
digious— Greene  to  stand  his  ground  and  Rawdon  to 
continue  his  advance.  The  First  Marylanders  were 
rallied  by  their  officers  and  came  on  again,  though, 
of  course,  not  with  their  usual  spirit  and  success. 
Rawdon's  attack,  however,  would  have  been  suc- 
cessful, had  it  not  been  for  the  arrival  of  Washington, 


io6     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

who  had  learned  of  the  disaster  and  had  acted  with 
the  promptness  of  Greene  himself;  releasing  his 
prisoners,  he  brought  up  his  cavalry  on  the  gallop. 
His  quick  eye  detected  the  critical  nature  of  the 
situation,  and  he  boldly  charged  through  the  scat- 
tered ranks  of  his  own  army  and  fell  like  a  thunder- 
bolt upon  the  British  about  the  guns.  By  the  mad 
impetuosity  of  his  charge,  Rawdon's  men  were  borne 
back  and  driven  down  the  hill.  But  a  moment's  respite 
was  afforded  by  this  rugged  little  band  of  heroic  caval- 
rymen, and  as  soon  as  the  force  of  their  dash  was  spent 
Rawdon  re-formed  the  men.  But  that  moment  had  been 
enough  for  Greene.  He  had  instantly  taken  advantage 
of  that  diversion  to  withdraw  his  guns  in  good  order 
and  effect  a  retreat!  Rawdon  hovered  in  his  rear, 
which  was  covered  by  the  remnants  of  Washington's 
intrepid  cavalry,  for  a  little  while,  but  finally  returned 
to  Camden. 

The  loss  on  the  American  side  was  nineteen  killed, 
one  hundred  and  fifteen  wounded  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty-six  missing,  most  of  the  latter  being  militia, 
making  a  total  of  two  hundred  and  seventy.  The  Brit- 
ish loss  was  thirty-eight  killed  and  two  hundred  and 
twenty  wounded  and  missing.  The  total  number  en- 
gaged on  both  sides  was  about  two  thousand,  making 
the  total  percentage  of  loss  about  twenty-five!  As 
usual,  Greene  had  lost  a  battle  but  had  won  a  campaign. 
Rawdon,  finding  his  communications  cut  off  in  every 
direction,  was  forced  to  abandon  Camden  and  retreat 
upon  Charleston.  Greene  was  very  much  chagrined 
over  his  lost  battle,  which  he  would  have  won  but  for 
an  unaccountable  accident,  but  he  philosophically  made 
the  best  of  the  situation  and  resolutely  girded  up  his 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign       107 

loins  for  another  fight.  To  the  French  minister  he 
wrote  at  this  time :  "We  fight,  we  get  beat,  rise  and 
fight  again,"  and  the  state  of  his  mind  is  indicated  by 
his  orders  for  the  day  after  the  battle.  The  parole  he 
gave  was  "Perseverance,"  and  the  countersign,  "Forti- 
tude." There  was  something  very  fine  in  the  grim 
tenacity  and  persistence  of  this  devoted  soldier. 

Greene  at  once  moved  forward  and  laid  siege  to  the 
last  British  post  in  the  interior  at  Ninety-six.  It  was 
the  strongest  of  the  British  fortifications  and  the  most 
heavily  garrisoned.  The  commanding  officer  was  Col- 
onel Cruger,  of  the  famous  New  York  regiment  of  loy- 
alists. He  skilfully  and  bravely  defended  his  post. 
On  the  twenty-second  of  May,  Greene  and  Kosciusko, 
the  Polish  engineer,  made  a  careful  reconnoissance  of 
the  position.  The  works  were  so  strong  that  the  Amer- 
ican despaired  of  effecting  their  capture  with  his  small 
force,  yet  he  determined  to  attempt  it.  The  operations 
carried  on  were  those  of  a  regular  siege,  approaches  be- 
ing made  by  parallels,  and  the  first  parallel  was  broken 
at  about  seventy  yards  from  the  fort  on  a  dark,  rainy 
night.  It  was  too  near  the  works  and,  by  a  brilliant 
sally,  which  was  a  complete  success,  Cruger  broke 
up  the  intrenching  party,  captured  their  tools,  de- 
stroyed the  parallel,  and  returned  without  loss  to  his 
entrenchments.  The  next  parallel  was  opened  at  four 
hundred  yards — a  proper  distance — and  the  work  was 
thenceforward  carried  on  vigorously  and  successful- 
ly, though  interrupted  by  frequent  bold  sorties  from 
the  fort.  A  mine  was  begun  at  the  end  of  the  first 
parallel,  guns  were  mounted  on  the  second,  and  the 
cannonading  began.  Cruger  was  summoned  to  surren- 
der on  the  third  of  June,  and  indignantly  refused, 


io8     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

whereupon  the  third  parallel  was  opened  close  to  the 
works.  To  facilitate  their  operations,  the  besiegers 
made  use  of  the  Maham  tower,  which  they  found  so 
effective  at  Fort  Watson  and  elsewhere. 

Meanwhile  reinforcements  had  arrived  at  Charleston 
for  Rawdon,  and  he  at  once  advanced  to  relieve  Nine- 
ty-six. Lee  had  come  in  from  the  successful  siege  of 
Augusta,  which  had  raised  the  number  of  Greene's 
force  somewhat,  though  the  other  reinforcements, 
which  were  to  be  sent  to  him  from  Virginia,  had  been 
retained  to  defend  that  state  against  Cornwallis's  in- 
cursion. On  the  twelfth  of  June  a  man  from  Rawdon 
succeeded  in  reaching  Cruger  with  the  advice  that  the 
British  commander  had  passed  Orangeburg  and  was 
marching  hard  to  raise  the  siege.  But  little  time  was 
left  for  the  Americans,  and  as  Greene  could  not  bear  to 
abandon  the  siege  without  making  a  final  effort  to 
capture  the  post,  he  decided  to  attempt  to  storm  the 
works.  The  assault  was  delivered  with  the  greatest 
gallantry  and  was  partially  successful,  as  the  attacking 
forces  succeeded  in  establishing  themselves  in  one  of 
the  bastions.  It  was  quite  possible,  if  Greene  had  put 
in  every  man  he  possessed,  to  have  made  good  his  foot- 
ing and  captured  the  fort.  It  was  equally  possible  that 
he  might  do  so  and  still  get  no  further  than  he  had.  It 
was  the  old  question  that  presented  itself  to  him  at 
Guilford  Court  House,  and  he  wisely  chose  to  give  up 
a  possible  success  in  the  face  of  a  possible  lost  army, 
so  he  reluctantly  abandoned  the  siege.  The  defense 
of  Cruger  had  been  magnificent.  The  American  loss 
had  been  one  hundred  and  forty-seven;  that  of  the 
British,  eighty-eight. 

Rawdon  arrived  on  the  twenty-first  of  June  with 
about  twenty-five  hundred  men.  He  immediately  left 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign       109 

in  pursuit  of  Greene,  but  the  wily  American  was  not  to 
be  caught  by  him  any  more  than  by  Cornwallis.  The 
two  armies  never  came  in  contact,  though  Rawdon's 
advance  did  some  heavy  skirmishing  with  Lee  and 
Washington.  Greene  established  himself  on  Rawdon's 
flanks,  changing  his  camp  daily,  until  the  enemy  gave 
up  the  futile  pursuit  indisgust.  Abandoning  Ninety-six, 
his  last  stronghold  in  the  interior,  which  was  untenable 
now  that  the  other  British  posts  had  been  captured,  Raw- 
don  retreated  once  more  to  Gharleston.  Again  Greene 
had  been  defeated,  but  had  won  a  campaign !  As  soon 
as  Rawdon  faced  toward  the  sea,  Greene  was  on  his 
heels  again  with  the  partizan  cavalry  hovering  about 
his  flanks.  No  man  was  ever  better  served  by  his 
scouts  than  Greene,  and  did  Rawdon  stop  his  march  and 
face  about,  the  wary  American  at  once  withdrew  from 
his  vicinity.  It  was  impossible  to  bring  him  to  battle  or 
to  force  him  at  bay,  so  the  superior  and  victorious  army 
continued  its  dogged  march  to  the  seaboard,  pursued 
and  aggravated  and  goaded  on  by  the  inferior  and  de- 
feated force.  They  might  defeat  Greene,  but  they  could 
not  disarrange  his  plans  or  break  his  spirit ;  and  his  men 
seem  to  have  entered  into  the  feelings  and  aspirations 
of  their  leader. 

It  has  not  been  mentioned  before,  but  in  this  whole 
campaign,  from  beginning  to  end,  Greene  never  had 
anything  that  was  necessary  to  make  an  efficient  army. 
His  men  were  deficient  in  everything.  He  had  no 
money,  no  tents,  no  provisions,  no  supply-train,  but 
little  ammunition,  and  arms  which  were  mainly  cap- 
tured from  their  enemy ;  the  men  were  bare  foot,  ragged, 
hungry,  tired,  sick  and  wounded — but  they  were  men ! 
And  they  showed  it  in  the  whole  campaign.  On  the 
tenth  of  July  Sumter  and  Marion  joined  Greene  with 


no     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

about  one  thousand  state  troops  and  militia,  bringing 
up  his  total  force  to  about  two  thousand  men.  He  at 
once  determined  to  give  battle  again,  and  moved  closer 
to  the  retreating  Rawdon,  who  had  by  this  time  reached 
Orangeburg.  Greene  occupied  a  strong  position  in 
front  of  Rawdon,  expecting  that  the  British  commander 
would  come  out  and  attack  him.  Rawdon,  however, 
declined  to  do  so,  his  experience  at  Hobkirk's  Hill 
had  been  sufficient  to  discourage  him;  and  finding  the 
British  position  too  strong  to  be  carried,  Greene  with- 
drew to  the  high  hills  of  the  Santee  to  give  his  tatter- 
demalion heroes  an  opportunity  to  recuperate  during 
the  hot  months  of  the  summer,  while  the  partizan 
bands  continued  their  adventurous  raids  with  much 
success  in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston. 

Rawdon,  sick  and  worn  out  with  his  arduous  cam- 
paigning, started  to  New  York  on  leave  of  absence, 
turning  over  the  command  to  Colonel  Stewart.  The 
vessel  in  which  Rawdon  sailed  had  the  ill-luck  to  be 
captured  by  De  Grasse,  and  the  unfortunate  comman- 
der had  the  privilege  of  sharing  the  fate  which  soon 
after  befell  his  old  leader  and  chief,  Cornwallis.  On 
the  twenty-third  of  August  the  indomitable  American 
commander  broke  camp  and  moved  for  Stewart's  right 
flank  in  the  hope  of  interposing  himself  between  that 
commander  and  Charleston.  On  account  of  the  lack 
of  river  transportation,  a  circuitous  march  was  neces- 
sitated which  led  him  through  Camden.  As  soon  as 
Stewart  heard  that  Greene  was  on  the  move,  he  began  a 
retreat  toward  Charleston,  and  finally  established  him- 
self in  a  strong  position  at  a  place  called  Eutaw 
Springs.  Greene,  sending  all  his  heavy  baggage  to  the 
rear,  at  once  moved  forward  in  pursuit.  On  the  eighth 
of  September  the  two  armies  were  almost  in  touch. 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign       1 1 1 

Greene  formed  his  little  force  of  about  twenty-three 
hundred  men,  one  half  of  whom  were  Continentals 
and  the  rest  militia,  in  two  columns,  the  North  and 
South  Carolina  militia  in  one  column,  the  Continentals 
from  North  Carolina,  Virginia  and  Maryland  in  the 
other,  and  advanced  early  in  the  morning  as  usual,  to 
make  the  attack;  this  time  he  determined  to  begin  the 
battle  instead  of  waiting  the  British  attack  as  hereto- 
fore. Lee  was  stationed  on  the  right  flank,  Henderson, 
with  some  South  Carolina  cavalry,  on  the  left,  Wash- 
ington and  the  remnants  of  the  Delaware  battalion  in 
the  rear.  Two  three-pound  guns  went  with  the  first 
column  and  two  six-pound  guns  with  the  second. 
Stewart's  force  amounted  to  about  twenty-five  hundred 
men — or  about  the  same  number  as  Greene  had — and 
comprised  the  sixty-third  and  sixty-fifth  regiments,  a 
battalion  of  grenadiers,  Cruger's  loyal  New  Yorkers, 
and  the  third  regiment  from  Ireland,  known  as  the 
"Buffs."  They  were  encamped  in  a  little  clearing  in 
the  midst  of  thick  woods. 

Greene  stole  up  to  them  without  being  observed. 
Two  deserters  apprised  Stewart  of  Greene's  proximity, 
but  he  did  not  credit  their  story.  Nevertheless,  early 
in  the  morning  a  small  detachment  of  cavalry  was  sent 
out  to  cover  the  "rooting  parties,"  who  were  accus- 
tomed to  dig  for  sweet  potatoes  for  the  various  regi- 
ments every  morning.  This  cavalry  picket,  under 
Captain  Coffin,  met  the  advance  guard  of  the  Ameri- 
cans at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  about  four 
miles  from  Eutaw  Springs.  Thinking  that  he  had  to 
do  with  militia  as  usual,  Coffin  charged,  but  retreated 
immediately,  leaving  forty  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the 
Americans  and  a  large  number  of  dead  and  wounded 
on  the  field.  The  unarmed  potato  pickers,  hearing  the 


ii2     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

fire,  came  out  on  the  road  and  were  all  captured — it 
was  an  auspicious  opening  of  the  day.  The  rattle  of 
the  small  arms  in  the  woods  at  once  apprised  Stewart 
that  something  serious  was  about  to  happen,  and  he 
drew  up  his  force  under  the  trees  across  the  road  lead- 
ing through  the  forest,  his  three  pieces  of  artillery 
commanding  the  road.  A  battalion  of  light  infantry 
protected  the  right  flank,  the  British  reserve  being  sta- 
tioned on  the  left.  Greene  deployed  his  two  columns 
into  line  as  quickly  as  the  thickly  wooded  ground 
would  permit,  and  sent  the  artillery  on  ahead  to  open 
the  battle.  He  moved  his  forces  forward  slowly  until 
he  came  upon  the  enemy's  lines. 

The  militia,  who  formed  the  first  line,  under  Pickens 
and  Marion  fought  with  the  greatest  determination, 
holding  their  ground  for  a  long  time,  but  they  were 
finally  forced  back  in  the  center.  The  North  Carolina 
Continentals  were  then  ordered  forward  to  reinforce 
the  first  line,  which  again  renewed  the  battle  and 
gained  some  ground,  though  it  was  afterward  slowly 
driven  back  again.  Greene  then  despatched  Wash- 
ington and  his  cavalry  against  the  British  right,  under 
Major  Marjoribanks,  and  Lee,  with  the  light  infantry 
and  the  cavalry  of  the  legion,  against  the  British  left. 
At  the  same  time,  Colonels  Williams  and  Camp- 
bell, with  the  Virginia  and  Maryland  Continentals, 
were  sent  forward  to  the  first  line  and  were  in- 
structed not  to  fire  but  to  make  free  use  of  the  bayonet, 
Greene  himself  leading  the  charge.  Their  determined 
assault  was  bravely  met  all  along  the  line.  Meanwhile 
Washington  was  unsuccessful  on  the  left ;  Marjoribanks 
put  up  a  desperate  defense,  and  the  thick  woods  did  not 
allow  the  cavalry  to  be  used  to  advantage.  Washing- 
ton's horse  was  shot  under  him,  he  was  thrust  through 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign       1 13 

with  a  bayonet,  and  would  have  been  killed  had  it  not 
been  for  a  British  officer  who  took  him  prisoner.  All  his 
officers  but  two  were  killed  or  wounded,  and  he  lost 
over  one  half  of  his  men.  The  remnant  of  his  force 
was  driven  back  and  their  retreat  was  covered  by  Col- 
onel Wade  Hampton  and  some  South  Carolina  parti- 
zans.  In  the  center,  however,  things  had  gone  better. 
The  men  came  to  close  quarters  and  crossed  bayonets. 
Colonel  Campbell  was  killed,  Colonels  Henderson  and 
Howard  likewise,  and  many  others  wounded.  The 
struggle  was  maintained  with  the  utmost  fury  and 
without  advantage  on  either  side,  the  lines  swaying 
back  and  forth  like  gigantic  wrestlers,  until  Lee,  who 
had  succeeded  in  breaking  the  British  left,  turned  and 
took  the  British  line  in  reverse.  As  the  light  horse 
came  sweeping  down  on  the  flank,  the  British  gave  way 
in  every  direction.  Two  of  the  three  guns  were  cap- 
tured, three  hundred  prisoners  were  taken,  and  finally 
the  whole  line  broke  and  fled  for  life,  hotly  pursued  by 
the  triumphant  Continentals  on  the  dead  run. 

The  British  forces  rushed  pell-mell  through  the 
woods  until  they  reached  the  clearing,  where  Stewart 
finally  succeeded  in  rallying  them  some  distance  in  the 
rear  of  the  camp.  Cruger  and  Sheridan  and  the  New 
Yorkers  threw  themselves  in  a  stout  brick  house  on  the 
edge  of  a  garden  surrounded  by  a  high  fence.  Mar- 
joribanks  and  his  men  took  possession  of  the  fence 
and  poured  in  a  heavy  fire.  The  British  and  Lee's 
men  had  reached  the  house  at  the  same  time ;  there  was 
a  furious  struggle  for  its  possession,  but  the  British 
finally  secured  it,  and  by  the  most  heroic  exertions, 
Stewart  got  his  line  re-formed.  From  the  upper  win- 
dows of  the  house  the  New  Yorkers  poured  a  hot  fire 
on  the  Continentals.  Unfortunately,  the  American 


1 14     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

advance  had  led  straight  through  the  British  camp, 
which  was  filled  with  good  things  to  eat,  as  breakfast 
was  being  prepared  when  the  fight  began.  The  men 
would  have  resisted  the  temptation  which  lay  in  ordi- 
nary plunder,  but  they  were  actually  hungry.  They 
fell  into  great  disorder  in  the  presence  of  the  first  sub- 
stantial breakfast  they  had  seen  for  perhaps  six  months ! 
The  British  seeing  the  state  of  affairs  made  a  deter- 
mined advance.  It  was  met  with  varying  success;  in 
some  parts  of  the  line  they  took  prisoners  and  drove 
the  Americans  back,  in  other  parts  they  were  repulsed. 
The  balance  of  the  advantage,  however,  was  with  them, 
and  in  the  confusion,  in  which  the  Americans  had  been 
led  by  their  appetites,  Greene  determined  to  withdraw 
— another  bitter  resolution  but,  as  usual,  a  wise  one. 
It  was  now  nearly  noon,  the  battle  having  lasted  about 
four  hours.  Greene  fell  back  to  his  camp  of  the  morn- 
ing and  Stewart,  of  course,  attempted  no  pursuit.  On 
the  next  day  the  Englishman  destroyed  his  baggage 
and  supplies  and  leaving  his  sick  and  wounded  and  one 
thousand  stand  of  arms,  he  began  a  hasty  retreat  to- 
ward Charleston. 

This  may  be  counted,  fairly  enough,  a  victory  for 
Greene,  though  the  British  have  always  claimed  it  as  a 
drawn  battle.  Greene  reported  to  Washington  that  it 
was  the  most  bloody  battle  and  obstinate  fight  he  ever 
saw.  The  American  loss  was  five  hundred  and  twenty- 
two,  one  fourth  of  their  entire  strength,  the  loss  of  the 
officers  being  unusually  severe.  The  British  loss,  ac- 
cording to  their  own  figures,  was  seven  hundred,  but 
the  number  of  prisoners  which  Greene  carried  off  the 
field  of  battle  brought  the  British  loss  up  to  at  least 
nine  hundred,  which  made  it  almost  forty  per  cent,  of 
the  number  engaged !  Thereafter  the  British  withdrew 


•r      be 

5.  .5 


Greene's  Carolina  Campaign       115 

within  the  walls  of  Charleston  and  there  they  stayed, 
and  there  was  no  more  war  in  the  Carolinas. 

For  about  eight  months  Greene  had  been  in  the 
field.  His  force  had  fought  four  pitched  battles,  one  of 
which,  the  Cowpens,  had  been  an  overwhelming  victory, 
two  others,  Guilford  Court  House  and  Hobkirk's 
Hill,  defeats,  and  the  last  one,  Eutaw  Springs,  a  sub- 
stantial victory.  He  had  won  from  an  enemy,  who 
always  overmatched  him  in  their  total  numbers,  three 
provinces.  He  had  carried  on  one  determined  siege — 
Ninety-six — himself,  and  through  his  lieutenants  had 
captured  every  other  fortified  post  in  his  department. 
He  had  so  maneuvered  as  to  always  have  the  greater 
force — with  the  exception  of  the  action  at  the  Cow- 
pens — at  the  point  of  attack,  although  the  total  number 
of  his  command  was  always  greatly  inferior  to  the  total 
of  the  British.  He  had  forced  Cornwallis  and  his 
troops  out  of  the  field,  had  out-manceuvered  Raw- 
don,  had  beaten  Stewart,  and  had  captured  every  posi- 
tion for  which  he  had  made  an  attempt.  He  had  been 
pursued  with  the  most  determined  persistence  by  all 
the  British  commanders  in  turn,  and  had  outwitted 
them  all,  marching  over  a  thousand  miles  at  the 
head  of  his  men.  He  had  done  this  with  an  army 
which  at  no  time  consisted  of  more  than  one  thou- 
sand regular  soldiers;  he  had  made  the  best  possible 
use  of  the  irregulars,  the  militia,  and  the  partizan 
bands  of  Marion  and  Sumter,  and  had  preserved 
peace  and  harmony  between  those  dashing  soldiers, 
unaccustomed  to  brook  restraint  from  any  one.  He 
had  done  this  without  a  military  treasure  chest, 
without  supplies — almost  without  assistance  from  any 
one — single-handed  and  alone.  All  this  constitutes  a 
military  achievement  almost  unparalleled. 


Ii6     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

There  was  no  more  fighting,  for  six  weeks  after  the 
battle  of  Eutaw  Springs  Cornwallis  surrendered,  and 
one  year  afterward  Charleston  was  evacuated.  At 
the  head  of  his  ragged  veterans,  on  December  14,  1782, 
the  gallant  Rhode  Islander  entered  the  city.  The  grate- 
ful people,  crowding  the  streets  in  the  sunshine  of  that 
winter  morning,  rained  flowers  and  blessings  upon  the 
great  soldier, who  had  so  brilliantly  fought  their  battles. 
The  legislatures  of  the  various  States  gave  him  large 
grants  of  land  and  some  gifts  of  money,  most  of  which 
went  to  redeem  the  personal  pledges  he  had  made  from 
time  to  time,  of  his  personal  credit,  to  get  bread  and 
powder  for  his  devoted  men.  Four  years  after  the  war 
he  died  of  sunstroke  in  that  South  land  for  which  he 
had  warred  and  in  which  he  had  chosen  to  make  his 
home.  These  are  the  words  regarding  him,  written 
by  one  of  his  friends,  his  comrade  "Mad  Anthony 
Wayne." 

"My  dear  friend,  General  Greene,  is  no  more.  He 
was  great  as  a  soldier,  greater  as  a  citizen,  immaculate  as 
a  friend.  Pardon  this  scrawl,  my  feelings  are  too  much 
affected,  because  I  have  seen  a  great  and  good  man 
die."  In  the  long  roll  of  men  who  made  possible  that 
glorious  liberty  which  we  now  enjoy,  by  their  sacri- 
fices and  struggles  and  their  heroic  devotion  in  the  hard 
days  of  the  Revolution,  no  name,  save  Washington, 
should  stand  higher  than  that  of  the  great  and  heroic 
soldier  to  whom  the  South  owes  her  independence. 


STORM    AND    SURPRISE 


I.   TICONDEROGA 

UP  to  the  date  of  the  Civil  War  there  was  more  fight- 
ing around  the  point  which  Lotbiniere  fortified  at  the 
head  of  Lake  George  than  in  any  other  spot  on  the  con- 
tinent; from  the  days  of  the  advent  of  the  romantic 
Champlain,who  fought  a  severe  battle  with  the  Iroquois 
where  the  fort  was  subsequently  located,  to  and  includ- 
ing the  War  of  1812,  it  was  the  scene  of  innumerable 
conflicts.  In  the  year  1775  the  fort,  which  had  cost  the 
English  so  much  blood  and  treasure  to  capture  from  the 
French,  was  negligently  garrisoned  by  forty-three  men 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Delaplace.  It  was  an 
immense  depot  of  supplies,  there  being  not  less  than 
two  hundred  cannon,  besides  large  quantities  of  other 
military  stores  of  great  value,  kept  there  and  at  the 
adjoining  post  of  Crown  Point. 

Fired  by  the  news  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  Bene- 
dict Arnold  had  suggested  the  possibility  of  the  capture 
of  the  fort  at  Ticonderoga.  His  proposed  enterprise 
had  been  sanctioned  and  he  was  granted  a  colonel's 
command  by  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  with  permis- 
sion to  enlist  a  regiment  wherever  he  could,  to  carry 

117 


n8     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

out  his  project.  A  similar  idea,  however,  had  occurred 
to  one  Ethan  Allen  who,  in  command  of  a  small  party 
of  hardy  men  known  as  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys," 
had  been  maintaining,  a  la  Robin  Hood,  a  bold  freedom 
in  the  hills  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  in  open 
rebellion  to  the  authority  of  the  Province  of  New  York, 
which  claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  disputed  country. 
Before  Arnold  had  time  to  enlist  any  men,  he  heard  of 
Allen's  design  and  at  once  joined  him,  claiming  the 
command  of  the  assembled  force  by  virtue  of  his  com- 
mission. The  Green  Mountain  Boys,  however,  would 
have  none  of  him.  Choosing  Allen  for  their  leader, 
and  being  joined  by  some  fifty  Massachusetts  men  and 
a  number  of  others  from  the  adjoining  country,  under 
the  redoubtable  Seth  Warner  and  Jonathan  Easton, 
they  determined  upon  the  capture  of  the  fort  at  Ticon- 
deroga.  The  unrecognized  Arnold  was  fain  to  go 
along  with  them  as  a  volunteer. 

On  the  night  of  May  6,  1775,  the  little  band,  amount- 
ing to  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  reached  the 
lake  opposite  the  fort.  They  found  that  but  few  boats 
could  be  collected  and,  even  by  using  the  greatest  dili- 
gence, they  were  unable  to  get  more  than  eighty-three 
men  across  the  river  before  morning.  What  was  to  be 
done?  If  they  waited  for  the  rest  to  come  over  they 
would  of  course  be  discovered  and  all  hope  of  a  sur- 
prise would  be  lost.  To  many  they  seemed  too  few  in 
numbers  to  do  anything  but  retrace  their  steps  and  try 
it  over  some  other  time.  It  was  a  critical  moment,  but 
Allen  was  equal  to  it,  he  knew  that  other  time  would 
probably  never  come,  it  was  then  or  never.  He  drew 
his  men  up  in  line  and  addressed  them  in  the  bom- 
bastic but  effective  style  of  which  he  was  a  master. 


Storm  and  Surprise  119 

He  announced  his  intention  of  attacking  the  fort  with- 
out waiting  for  the  rest  to  join  and  concluded  with 
these  words :  "It  is  a  desperate  attempt  and  I  ask  no 
man  to  go  against  his  will.  I  will  take  the  lead  and  be 
the  first  to  advance.  You  who  are  willing  to  follow, 
poise  your  firelocks."  Inspired  by  his  words  and  exam- 
ple the  men  fairly  threw  their  pieces  in  the  air  in  their 
eagerness  to  be  off.  Guided  by  a  country  boy  of  the 
vicinity,  they  made  their  way  through  the  woods,  and  in 
the  gray  of  the  morning  climbed  the  hill  silently  and 
without  noise.  As  they  came  creeping  softly  around 
the  wall  of  the  fort,  they  observed  that  the  main  gate 
was  closed,  but  the  wicket  was  open.  Before  the  sleepy 
sentry  at  the  sally-port  had  more  than  time  to  snap  his 
musket,  which  missed  fire,  Allen  and  Arnold,  who  were 
in  the  lead,  were  upon  him.  He  was  knocked  down, 
his  piece  was  wrenched  from  him,  and  with  loud  cheers 
the  Americans  poured  into  the  fort  through  the  covered 
way. 

Another  sentry  inside  made  something  of  a  fight, 
discharging  his  piece  ineffectively  and  gallantly  rush- 
ing forward  to  use  the  bayonet,  when  he  was  wounded 
and  overpowered.  By  Allen's  direction,  his  men  drew 
themselves  up  in  a  hollow  square  in  front  of  the  bar- 
racks and  the  officers'  quarters,  facing  out,  and  when 
the  surprised  British  rushed  out  on  the  parade, 
they  found  themselves  looking  down  a  row  of  polished 
gun-barrels.  Under  threat  of  instant  death,  the  cap- 
tured sentry  pointed  out  the  commandant's  house,  and 
Allen  ran  over  and  thundered  against  the  door  with  the 
hilt  of  his  sabre.  "Come  forth  instantly,"  he  shouted, 
"or  I  will,  sacrifice  the  whole  garrison."  Delaplace, 
who  had  been  awakened  by  the  confusion,  at  once 


I2O     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

opened  the  door.  He  was  still  in  his  night  clothes  and 
carried  his  trousers  in  his  hand.  Behind  him  appeared 
the  white-capped  face  of  his  frightened  wife.  "Deliver 
me  up  the  fort  instantly,"  cried  Allen.  "By  what  au- 
thority do  you  ask?"  asked  the  surprised  and  startled 
commander,  who  had  not  even  heard  that  there  was  a 
revolution  in  the  land.  Allen's  famous  answer  has 
rung  through  the  years  from  that  day  to  this  and  is 
enough  to  have  gained  him  immortality.  "In  the  name 
of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress !" 
he  replied.  Either  of  these  adjurations  was  sufficient. 
Delaplace  began  to  remonstrate,  but  was  sternly  si- 
lenced, and  with  Allen's  sword  at  his  throat  he  reluc- 
tantly gave  up  the  post  and  ordered  his  men  to  be 
paraded  without  arms. 

Thus  the  fort,  which  had  been  so  brilliantly  de- 
fended by  Montcalm,  which  had  cost  England  eight 
million  pounds  sterling,  a  succession  of  desperate 
campaigns  and  many  lives  before  she  took  it  from 
the  French,  was  captured  in  ten  minutes  by  less 
than  one  hundred  provincials  and  undisciplined  vol- 
unteers, without  the  loss  of  a  man !  At  the  same  time, 
Seth  Warner,  another  Green  Mountain  Boy,  captured 
the  fort  at  Crown  Point  while  Arnold,  with  some 
other  men,  sailed  down  Lake  Champlain  and  cap- 
tured St.  Johns,  and  a  third  detachment  took  posses- 
sion of  Skenesborough,  at  the  foot  of  Lake  George. 
Thus  the  whole  country  came  into  possession  of  the 
Americans.  They  secured  over  two  hundred  cannon 
and  vast  quantities  of  military  stores,  which  were  im- 
mediately forwarded  to  Washington's  army,  and  with- 
out which,  at  that  time,  it  would  have  been  almost 
impossible  to  carry  on  the  Revolution. 


Storm  and  Surprise  121 

II.    STONY    POINT 

WHILE  Washington  and  Clinton  were  warily  watching 
each  other  about  New  York  in  1779,  the  British  com- 
mander amused  himself  by  sending  predatory  forces 
in  various  directions  to  raid  the  country.  The  British 
some  time  before  had  captured  Stony  Point,  a  rocky 
peninsula  commanding  the  Hudson,  which  extended 
into  the  water  and  was  surrounded  by  it  on  three  sides, 
connection  with  the  mainland  being  only  practicable  at 
low  tide  by  a  causeway  which  led  through  a  morass. 
The  Americans  had  begun  the  erection  of  a  fort  on  the 
point  when  it  was  captured  by  Clinton,  and  which  he 
had  completed.  It  was  strongly  garrisoned,  provided 
with  cannon,  rifle-pits  and  two  rows  of  abattis.  Wash- 
ington determined  to  take  the  position;  first  to  let 
Clinton  know  that  he  was  still  to  be  reckoned  with,  and 
second,  to  effect  the  recall  of  some  of  the  marauding  ex- 
cursions. He  selected  to  command  the  attack  Brigadier- 
General  Anthony  Wayne,  one  of  his  distinguished  sub- 
ordinates. Wayne  was  a  Pennsylvanian,  a  wealthy, 
cultivated  gentleman,  of  fine  military  ability  and  the 
highest  courage.  He  had  various  nicknames  in  the 
army  and  among  the  Indians,  with  whom  he  afterward 
fought,  among  which  were  "Black  Snake,"  "Tornado," 
and  "Dandy  Wayne," — the  last  from  his  love  of  mili- 
tary finery.  But  the  best  known  epithet  and  the  one 
which  has  clung  to  him  is  that  of  "Mad  Anthony,"  from 
his  reckless  and  dare-devil  courage;  the  name  gives  a 
false  impression  of  his  character,  however,  as  none 
could  be  more  cool  and  wary  or  provident  and  deter- 
mined than  he,  especially  in  his  later  years  when  he 
fought  the  Indians  with  such  signal  success. 


122     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

When  Washington  asked  him  if  he  would  accept  the 
duty  and  storm  Stony  Point,  he  said  tersely,  "I'll  storm 
Hell,  General,  if  you  will  lay  the  plan !"  The  great  com- 
mander-in-chief  did  lay  the  plan  with  the  utmost  care, 
even  going  so  far  as  to  have  all  the  dogs  for  three  miles 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort  privately  killed  to  prevent 
them  giving  the  alarm.  "As  most  of  the  affairs  of  this 
kind  are  attempted  in  the  early  morning  before  day- 
break," he  remarked,  "at  which  hour  a  good  comman- 
der is  most  alert,  we  will  deliver  this  attack  about 
midnight."  Orders  were  sent  to  put  in  another  cooper- 
ating force  from  West  Point  in  case  the  attack  succeed- 
ed. The  light  infantry,  who  were  to  make  the  attack, 
marched  to  within  a  mile  of  the  fort  without  discovery 
on  the  night  of  the  fifteenth  of  July.  None  of  the  mus- 
kets of  the  men  were  charged  and  orders  were  given 
to  rely  entirely  upon  the  bayonet — this  is  the  first  time 
it  was  to  be  formally  tried  as  a  main  dependence  in  the 
Continental  army.  The  assaulting  force,  numbering 
about  twelve  hundred  men,  was  divided  into  three  col- 
umns, and  a  reserve  of  three  hundred  under  General 
Muhlenberg,  with  Lee's  light  cavalry,  were  left  on  the 
shore.  Wayne  and  his  principal  officers  had  carefully 
reconnoitered  the  fort  to  enable  them  to  proceed  under- 
standingly.  About  half  after  eleven  at  night  the  men 
were  paraded  and  told  the  object  of  their  expedition 
which,  until  then,  had  been  kept  profoundly  secret. 
They  were  eager  to  make  the  attempt. 

Guided  by  a  negro  of  the  neighborhood,  who  had 
frequently  sold  fruit  and  vegetables  to  the  garrison  and 
who  knew  the  countersign,  they  advanced  quietly 
through  the  darkness  in  two  main  columns  to  attack 
right  and  left,  with  a  smaller  column  in  front.  One 
hundred  and  fifty  volunteers,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 


Storm  and  Surprise  123 

Colonel  Fleury  and  Major  Posey,  formed  the  van  of  the 
right  column  under  Wayne  himself,  one  hundred 
volunteers  under  Major  Stewart,  the  van  of  the 
left  column  under  Colonel  Febiger ;  in  advance  of  each 
of  these  assaulting  columns  was  a  forlorn  hope  of 
twenty  men  each,  led  by  Lieutenants  Knox  and  Gib- 
bons, whose  duty  it  was  to  remove  the  abattis.  The 
negro  guide  was  accompanied  by  two  stout  soldiers 
disguised  as  farmers.  He  gave  the  countersign  to  the 
first  two  sentinels  they  reached  in  succession,  and  while 
he  held  them  in  conversation,  they  were  seized  and 
gagged  by  the  pseudo-farmers,  without  having  been 
able  to  fire  a  gun.  They  found  the  causeway  over- 
flowed when  they  reached  it  and  were  forced  to  wait 
until  half  after  twelve  until  the  water  subsided,  there- 
upon the  charge  was  ordered.  The  British  were  at 
once  called  to  arms. 

The  Americans  silently  rushed  upon  the  pickets 
in  spite  of  their  fire.  The  forlorn  hopes  threw 
aside  the  abattis,  losing,  in  one  instance,  eighteen  men 
out  of  the  twenty,  and  the  two  columns  dashed  through 
the  openings,  brushing  aside  the  inner  guards,  and 
under  a  heavy  fire  of  grape  from  the  cannon  of  the 
bastions,  most  of  which  overshot  their  mark,  and  a  brisk 
musketry  discharge,  they  sprang  upon  the  walls  of  the 
fort  shouting  the  countersign,  "The  fort  is  our  own!" 
Colonel  Fleury  was  the  first  man  to  leap  over  the 
ramparts,  where  he  lowered  the  English  flag  with  his 
own  hands.  At  the  inner  row  of  abattis,  Wayne  was 
struck  down  by  a  musket  shot  which  grazed  his  head. 
Thinking,  in  the  confusion,  that  he  had  received  his 
death  wound,  he  cried  feebly,  "Carry  me  into  the  fort, 
and  let  me  die  at  the  head  of  the  column."  His  aides 
picked  him  up  and  rushed  forward  with  him  until  he 


124     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

recovered  himself.  The  two  columns  scaled  the  ram- 
parts at  nearly  the  same  time  and  met  in  the  middle  of 
the  fort,  before  the  garrison  had  entirely  awakened 
or  fully  recovered  from  their  surprise,  whereupon  the 
place  was  at  once  surrendered.  The  loss  of  the  Ameri- 
cans was  eighty-three  killed  and  wounded ;  that  of  the 
British  ninety-two,  and  about  five  hundred  prisoners. 
No  inhumanity  marked  the  capture  and  no  surrendered 
man  was  put  to  the  sword — there  was  no  massacre 
and  murder — according  to  the  British  practice  on  simi- 
lar occasions.  At  daybreak  the  guns  of  the  fort  were 
turned  upon  Fort  Lafayette  and  the  ships-of-war,  and 
the  latter  at  once  cut  their  cables  and  dropped  down  the 
river.  Through  some  blunder  the  supporting  detach- 
ment, which  was  to  come  down  from  West  Point,  did 
not  arrive  in  time  and,  when  they  did  come,  brought 
no  ammunition  for  their  siege  guns.  Fort  Lafayette 
therefore  held  out. 

Clinton  at  once  moved  up  the  Hudson  in  force,  hop- 
ing to  tempt  Washington  from  his  strong  defensive 
position,  and  get  him  to  hazard  a  battle  to  hold  Stony 
Point.  Washington  inspected  the  fort  carefully,  and 
finding  that  it  would  take  at  least  fifteen  hundred  men  to 
hold  it  properly,  which  he  could  ill  spare,  and  as  he  had 
no  wish  to  risk  a  battle  on  unfavorable  terms,  he  de- 
termined to  abandon  the  post,  which  he  did  on  the 
eighteenth  of  July,  after  removing  the  cannon  and 
stores  and  destroying  the  works ;  taking  away  property 
to  the  value  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dollars, 
which  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  victors.  The 
storming  of  Stony  Point  was  the  most  brilliant  achieve- 
ment of  the  war.  The  Americans  captured  the  position 
without  firing  a  gun,  relying  entirely  upon  the  use 
of  the  bayonet.  Wayne  gained  the  greatest  credit  for 
the  courage  and  daring  with  which  he  carried  out  the 


Storm  and  Surprise  125 

plan  of  the  commander-in-chief.  When  he  heard  the 
news  of  their  evacuation,  Clinton  occupied  the  position 
after  the  American  withdrawal,  but  he  soon  abandoned 
it  as  untenable ;  he  had  previously  recalled  his  maraud- 
ing parties  and  thereafter  kept  his  army  together  in 
New  York,  well  in  hand,  uncertain  where  he  would  be 
attacked  again. 

III.    PAULUS    HOOK 

HE  was  not  left  long  in  doubt,  however,  for  the  daring 
exploit  of  Wayne  had  kindled  the  imagination  of  an- 
other young  soldier,  equally  hardy  and  bold.  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  commanding  the  famous  Virginia  cavalry 
and  known  as  ''Light  Horse  Harry  Lee,"  in  one  of  his 
scouting  expeditions,  discovered  that  the  British  fort 
at  Paulus  Hook  was  negligently  garrisoned  by  an 
over-confident  enemy.  Paulus  Hook  is  a  long,  low 
point  on  the  Jersey  shore  just  opposite  New  York, 
stretching  out  into  the  Hudson  and  connected  with  the 
mainland  by  a  sandy  isthmus.  It  is  almost  an  island 
in  fact;  for  a  creek,  fordable  in  but  two  places,  ren- 
dered the  Hook  difficult  of  access.  Between  the  fort 
and  the  creek  a  deep  trench  had  been  cut  across  the 
isthmus,  over  which  access  to  the  post  was  to  be  had 
by  a  drawbridge  and  barred  gate  on  the  land  side  of 
the  fort ;  there  was  also  a  double  row  of  abattis  around 
the  walls.  •  The  garrison  amounted  to  about  four  hun- 
dred men.  To  take  it  was  a  smaller  but  much  more 
desperate  undertaking  than  the  attempt  on  Stony  Point, 
on  account  of  the  difficulties  the  attacking  party  would 
have,  even  if  successful,  in  getting  away,  owing  to  the 
nearness  of  the  enemy's  main  army  in  New  York  and 
vicinity. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  August,  1779,  the  expedition 


126     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

started.  Lee  divided  his  forces,  sending  a  portion  of 
them  in  a  different  direction,  under  Captain  Allan  Mc- 
Lane,  who  was  to  join  him  before  the  fort,  while  he 
himself  commanded  the  main  attacking  column.  In 
the  darkness  of  the  night  and  through  some  misunder- 
standing, when  Lee  reached  the  Hook  at  midnight  the 
others  did  not  come  up.  The  contingent  of  loyal  Amer- 
icans, who  ordinarily  garrisoned  the  position,  had  been 
withdrawn,  and  some  of  the  best  of  the  Hessian  merce- 
naries had  supplanted  them.  Lee  did  not  know  this, 
but  if  he  had  it  would  have  made  no  difference. 
The  failure  of  McLane  to  arrive  had  seriously  weakened 
his  force,  of  course ;  but,  as  he  said,  he  had  come  to  at- 
tack, and  if  he  could  not  take  the  fort  with  his  party, 
they  had  at  least  enough  men  to  get  in  it  and  die  there. 
That  is  the  kind  of  man  Lee  was.  The  watchword  he 
gave  was  "Be  firm."  It  was  after  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  on  account  of  their  very  long  wait  for  Mc- 
Lane, when  he  gave  the  word  to  advance.  Although 
the  tide  was  rising,  the  men  plunged  in  boldly  and 
struggled  across  the  morass  without  a  sound.  They 
waded  through  the  ditch  and  as  they  climbed  up  the 
bank  they  were  discovered.  The  startled  garrison 
sprang  to  arms  and  opened  a  hasty  fire  at  once,  but  the 
"foot  cavalry,"  the  dismounted  light  horse,  were  too 
quick  for  them.  They  rushed  into  the  works,  clearing 
their  way  with  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 

Twelve  of  the  British  were  killed  and  wounded,  and 
but  five  of  the  Americans.  Sutherland,  the  commander 
of  the  post,  with  sixty  of  the  Hessians  threw  himself 
into  a  small  blockhouse  on  the  left  of  the  fort  and 
opened  a  scattering  fire  which  did  no  damage.  The 
rest  of  the  garrison,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty-nine,  including  three  officers,  were  tumbled  out  of 


Storm  and  Surprise  127 

their  quarters  and  captured  before  they  had  time  to 
thoroughly  awaken,  and  Lee,  in  accordance  with  the 
strict  orders  which  he  had  received  from  Washington, 
abandoned  the  fort  at  once,  without  disturbing  the  men 
in  the  blockhouse  or  attempting  to  spike  the  guns. 
After  some  desperate  adventures  he  reached  Washing- 
ton's camp  in  safety  with  all  his  prisoners.  As  a  bril- 
liant coup  de  main,  it  would  be  hard  to  surpass  this 
enterprise ;  it  was  like  pulling  the  nose  of  the  king  on 
his  throne  in  the  very  presence  of  his  assembled  court 
and  getting  away  safely ;  and  it  gave  the  British  a  very 
healthy  regard  indeed,  in  conjunction  with  the  affair 
at  Stony  Point,  for  the  American  troops  thereafter. 


SOME    MINOR    SEA-FIGHTS 
OF    THE    REVOLUTION 


I.  BIDDLE  AND  THE  RANDOLPH 

AFTER  John  Paul  Jones,  the  most  daring  naval  officer 
of  the  Revolution  was  Captain  Nicholas  Biddle,  a 
notable  scion  of  the  distinguished  American  family  of 
that  name.  From  his  early  youth  he  had  followed  the 
sea,  experiencing  in  full  measure  the  hardships  and 
dangers,  including  several  shipwrecks,  of  that  arduous 
calling.  On  the  occasion  of  a  threatened  outbreak  be- 
tween England  and  Spain  over  the  Falkland  Islands, 
at  his  own  request  he  had  been  appointed  a  midshipman 
in  the  British  navy.  When  it  was  seen  that  there  would 
be  no  war,  moved  by  a  spirit  of  adventure,  he  applied 
for  and  received  a  leave  of  absence,  during  which  he 
shipped  before  the  mast — as  the  orders  were  to  take  no 
midshipman  or  boys — in  Captain  Phipps'  expedition 
to  the  North  Pole.  Another  lad  who  had  been  actuated 
by  the  same  spirit  had  done  the  same  thing — his  name 
was  Horatio  Nelson !  The  two  boys,  who  became  great 
friends,  were  both  promoted  to  the  rank  of  coxswain 
before  their  return  and  both  gave  promise  of  their  sub- 
sequent ability. 

Of  course  Biddle  was  commissioned  in  the  Conti- 
128 


Some  Minor  Sea-Fights          129 

nental  navy  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  and  in 
the  early  part  of  the  war,  while  in  command  of  the 
Andria  Doric,  a  small  vessel  armed  with  four  six-pound 
guns,  he  made  a  brilliantly  successful  cruise,  capturing 
ten  prizes  in  a  short  time,  including  two  armed  trans- 
ports carrying  over  four  hundred  soldiers !  When  the 
Andria  Doria  reached  port  after  this  cruise  she  had  but 
five  of  her  original  crew  on  board,  the  rest  being  dis- 
tributed on  her  various  prizes.  After  this,  in  February, 
1777,  he  was  given  the  command  of  the  new  thirty-two- 
gun  frigate  Randolph,  just  built  by  the  Government, 
and  at  that  time  the  best  ship  in  the  navy.  He  made 
two  successful  cruises  in  her  off  Charleston,  taking 
many  prizes,  one  of  them  a  twenty-gun  war  vessel 
with  a  convoy  of  three  valuable  merchant  ships,  all  of 
which  he  captured.  He  was  a  great  favorite  with  the 
gallant  South  Carolinians  while  he  was  blockaded  in 
Charleston  Harbor  for  nearly  a  year,  and  they  fitted 
out  a  State  fleet  of  five  small  vessels  which,  under  his 
command,  set  forth  to  seek  the  erstwhile  blockading 
squadron  of  the  enemy  which  had  disappeared  before 
they  sailed.  They  were  not  successful  in  finding  this 
squadron,  however,  although  they  captured  several 
prizes  while  cruising  to  the  southward. 

On  March  7,  1778,  a  large  sail  was  sighted  off 
Martinique,  some  accounts  say  at  five  in  the  morn- 
ing, some  at  the  same  hour  in  the  afternoon;  the 
difference  is  not  material  however,  for  it  was  the  action 
not  the  time  that  counted.  The  squadron  made  for  the 
approaching  vessel,  but  as  the  hours  wore  away  she  was 
discovered  to  be  a  large  ship-of-the-line — the  Yar- 
mouth, 64.  Biddle  now  signalled  to  his  squadron  of 
small  and  lightly  armed  merchant  vessels  and  prizes  to 
make  sail  to  escape.  He  then  stood  boldly  down  to- 


130     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

ward  the  enemy,  to  cover  their  retreat.  It  was  an  act 
of  the  greatest  hardihood  and  resolution  for  a  small 
thirty-two-gun  frigate  to  engage  a  heavily  built  ship- 
of-the-line  with  her  massive  scantling  and  frames. 
The  difference  in  the  number  of  guns  on  the  two 
ships,  two  to  one,  does  not  by  any  means  indicate  the 
difference  in  effective  force  between  them,  which  could 
be  better  expressed  by  the  ratio  of  four  or  five  to  one, 
especially  considering  the  greater  size  and  weight  of 
the  liner's  guns.  It  was  like  matching  a  bull  terrier 
against  a  mastiff  in  a  finish  fight  to  pit  these  two  ships 
against  each  other. 

Biddle  was  game  for  anything — no  braver  man  ever 
trod  a  ship's  deck  than  this  young  captain,  just  twenty- 
seven  years  of  age — but  although  he  was  heroic,  he 
was  not  foolish,  as  it  would  seem  at  first  glance,  for  he 
knew  what  he  intended  to  do  and  what  was  necessary. 
He  intended  to  sacrifice  his  own  ship  in  order  to  protect 
the  State  cruisers  and  the  prizes  under  his  command ! 
The  odds  against  him  were  fearful,  but  the  American 
navy  has  ever  laughed  at  odds.  So  Biddle  took  his  life 
in  his  hands  and,  supported  by  as  stout-hearted  and 
reckless  a  crew  as  ever  hauled  a  sheet  or  passed  an 
ear-ring,  sailed  boldly  down  on  his  huge  antagonist. 
Heroes  one  and  all !  At  eight  o'clock  the  two  ships  had 
drawn  within  gunshot  of  each  other  when  the  Yar- 
mouth hailed  and  asked  the  name  of  the  smaller  vessel, 
and  then  demanded  that  she  strike. 

"This  is  the  American  Continental  ship  Randolph," 
replied  Biddle,  gallantly,  at  the  same  time  pouring  in 
a  broadside,  which  was  at  once  returned  with  fearful 
effect  by  the  two-decker,  as  the  ships  were  within  pistol- 
shot  distance.  It  has  been  surmised  that  Biddle  desper- 
ately hoped  to  capture  the  Yarmouth  by  boarding, 


Sortie  Minor  Sea-Fights          13! 

though  what  he  could  have  done  with  three  hundred 
men,  if  he  had  gained  her  decks,  against  six  hundred 
of  the  English  is  difficult  to  see.  However,  during 
the  whole  of  the  action  he  endeavored  to  close — to 
get  nearer  the  enemy  was  his  instinctive  desire,  that 
is  the  kind  of  man  he  was!  For  forty  minutes  the 
action  was  kept  up  with  the  greatest  spirit,  the  ships 
edging  nearer  together  with  every  passing  moment, 
until  at  last  they  came  in  contact.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  with  a  tremendous  roar  the  Randolph  blew  up, 
probably  a  shot  had  reached  her  magazine,  though  we 
are  certain  of  nothing  except  the  fact  of  the  explosion 
which  tore  her  to  pieces. 

The  Yarmouth  was  hurled  over  on  her  beam  ends 
and  covered  with  burning  timber,  sails,  spars,  and 
other  debris  and  wreckage  from  the  Randolph,  in- 
cluding a  small,  tightly  rolled  up  American  flag. 
She  had  great  difficulty  in  successfully  fighting  the 
flames  and  repairing  her  rigging  and  spars,  which 
were  much  cut  up  by  the  fire  of  her  puny  and  des- 
perate antagonist,  and  her  other  casualties  amounted 
to  four  killed  and  twelve  wounded.  When  she  was  in 
condition  to  chase,  the  American  ships  were  too  far 
away  to  be  overhauled  by  the  weakened  battleship,  and 
they  all  escaped.  Thus  Biddle's  heroic  resolution  had 
effected  his  purpose.  Five  days  after  the  battle,  the 
Yarmouth  again  cruising  in  the  same  vicinity,  four 
men,  starving  and  exhausted,  were  picked  up  from  a 
spar  to  which  they  had  been  clinging.  They  stated 
that  they  belonged  to  the  ill-fated  Randolph,  and  they 
were  the  only  survivors  of  three  hundred  and  fifteen 
officers  and  men  who  had  gallantly  fought  her  until  she 
was  destroyed.  From  them  it  was  learned  that  Biddle 
had  been  severely  wounded  in  the  leg  in  the  early  part  of 


132     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

the  action,  but  that  he  had  refused  to  go  below  and  had 
remained  sitting  in  a  chair  on  the  deck  encouraging  his 
men  and  directing  the  fighting,  while  the  surgeon 
dressed  his  wounds — a  gallant  picture  of  an  heroic  sea- 
man. Before  he  had  sailed  away  on  this  cruise  he 
wrote  to  his  brother  as  follows :  "I  know  not  what 
may  be  our  fate ;  be  it,  however,  what  it  may,  you  may 
rest  assured  it  will  never  cause  a  blush  in  the  cheeks 
of  my  friends  or  countrymen."  And  so  Biddle  was  not 
only  a  sailor,  but  a  prophet  as  well;  for  no  American 
fighter,  in  so  short  a  career,  ever  gained  more  honor 
on  the  sea  than  he. 

II.   NICHOLSON  AND  THE  TRUMBULL 

ANOTHER  American  naval  officer  who  had  a  distin- 
guished career  was  Captain  John  Nicholson.  After  the 
dismissal  of  Esek  Hopkins  he  became  the  senior  officer 
of  the  navy.  On  June  2, 1780,  this  officer,  in  command  of 
the  small  twenty-eight-gun frigateTnunbull, discovered 
a  strange  sail  about  four  hundred  miles  east  of  Cape 
May.  Captain  Nicholson  ran  in  his  guns,  closed  his 
ports,  set  his  sails  carelessly,  to  give  the  impression 
that  his  ship  was  a  clumsy  merchantman,  and  throwing 
out  drags  to  check  his  speed,  succeeded  in  luring 
the  stranger  under  his  guns.  When  the  character  of  the 
Trumbull  was  ascertained  on  closer  approach,  the 
stranger,  a  large  armed  ship,  much  greater  in  force 
than  the  Trumbull,  made  sail  to  escape,  but  was  speed- 
ily overhauled  by  the  more  rapid  American  frigate 
which  had  meanwhile  assumed  her  true  character. 
Nicholson  then  immediately  cleared  for  action.  When 
within  one  hundred  yards  of  each  other,  the  two  ships 
began  a  murderous  and  obstinate  fight  which  lasted  for 


Some  Minor  Sea-Fights          133 

three  long  hours.  There  appears  to  have  been  no 
manoeuvering  to  speak  of  on  either  side;  and  the  two 
vessels,  pouring  into  each  other  a  rapid  fire  the  while, 
sailed  side  by  side,  sometimes  drifting  so  close  to- 
gether that  the  yard-arms  interlocked  for  the  moment. 
Each  ship  in  succession  was  set  on  fire  by  burning  gun- 
wads,  so  near  were  they  to  each  other.  At  .the  end 
of  the  fight,  when  the  fire  of  the  enemy  had  almost 
ceased,  and  Nicholson  already  considered  the  other 
ship  his  prize,  the  mainmast  of  the  Trumbull,  which 
had  been  badly  wounded,  carried  away,  bringing  with 
it  spar  after  spar  until  only  the  foremast  of  the  frigate 
was  left  standing.  While  the  Americans  were  in  this 
helpless  condition,  the  enemy,  who  had  received  more 
than  enough  of  it,  made  his  escape;  though,  had  he 
been  in  condition  to  continue  the  fight,  he  should 
easily  have  been  able  to  compel  the  Trumbull  to  strike. 
It  was  afterward  learned  that  he  was  the  British  pri- 
vateer Watt  of  thirty-eight  guns,  mostly  twelve-poun- 
ders, which  had  been  especially  fitted  out  to  take  an 
American  frigate. 

The  loss  of  the  Trumbull  was  thirty-nine  killed  and 
wounded,  that  of  the  Watt,  ninety-two !  As  she  sailed 
away  it  was  seen  that  she  was  terribly  cut  up  and  her 
main  top-mast  carried  away;  this  loss  was  followed 
later  by  that  of  most  of  her  other  spars.  Some  days 
after  the  action,  when  his  completely  disabled  ship  was 
towed  into  the  harbor  of  New  York,  the  captain  of 
the  Watt  was  asked  the  name  of  his  antagonist's  com- 
mander ;  his  answer  was,  "It  must  have  been  Paul  Jones 
or  the  devil.  There  never  was  a  ship  fought  before 
with  such  frantic  desperation."  There  was  no  question 
but  that  the  Watt  was  a  heavy  overmatch  for  the  Trum- 
bull, and  in  thus  beating  the  English  ship  to  a  standstill, 


134     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

and  virtually  winning  the  fight,  Captain  Nicholson  had 
done  a  very  gallant  thing.  Many  of  the  American 
crew  were  green  hands,  who  had  never  been  to  sea  be- 
fore and  suffered  from  the  debilitating  illness  incident 
thereto  during  the  fight.  With  the  exception  of  Jones' 
greatest  battle,  this  is  considered  to  have  been  the  sever- 
est sea-fight  of  the  Revolution. 

In  the  summer  of  1781,  the  Trumbull,  still  under 
the  command  of  stout  old  Nicholson,  was  convoying 
a  fleet  of  merchantmen  off  the  Capes  of  Delaware.  She 
had  a  worse  crew  on  than  before.  She  was  actually 
short  nearly  two  hundred  of  her  quota,  the  total  num- 
ber of  souls  she  carried  being  one  hundred  and  twenty, 
when  her  proper  complement  should  have  been  over 
three  hundred.  Of  those  she  had,  a  large  number  were 
British  seamen  who  had  conceived  the  plan  of  mutiny- 
ing and  capturing  her,  influenced  by  the  heavy  rewards 
offered  by  the  British  Admiralty  for  such  actions. 
Captain  Nicholson  had  as  his  lieutenants,  however, 
three  men  who  were  worth  a  ship's  company ;  they  were 
Alexander  Murray,  afterward  highly  distinguished, 
Richard  Dale,  who  had  fought  on  the  Bonhomme 
Richard  with  such  conspicuous  devotion  and  courage, 
and  Christopher  Raymond  Perry,  the  father  of  the 
subsequently  famous  Oliver  Hazard  Perry.  The  little 
squadron  had  been  chased  by  three  British  cruisers  and 
the  merchantmen  had  put  back  and  escaped,  though  the 
Trumbull  continued  at  sea,  desirous  of  getting  a  fight 
out  of  the  pursuers,  could  they  be  separated.  During  the 
chase  they  all  ran  into  a  heavy  gale  which  scattered  the 
British  ships  and  in  which  the  Trumbull  unluckily 
lost  her  foretopmast  and  main  topgallant-mast  late  in 
the  evening.  About  ten  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the 


Some  Minor  Sea-Fights          135 

eighth  of  August,  two  of  the  ships  which  had  formerly 
chased  her  again  overhauled  the  American. 

The  British  thirty-two-gun  frigate  Iris  came  down 
on  the  starboard  side,  another  vessel  ranged  alongside 
on  the  port  quarter,  and  they  both  opened  fire.  The 
weather  was  rainy  and  squally  with  the  sea  run- 
ning high;  the  Trumbull  was  still  encumbered  with 
wreckage,  which  had  not  been  entirely  cleared  away  on 
account  of  her  being  undermanned.  Almost  any  offi- 
cer would  have  struck  at  once,  but  Nicholson  was  not 
made  that  way.  At  the  first  fire  of  the  enemy,  the  Eng- 
lishmen on  the  Trumbull,  having  no  interest  in  the 
fight,  ran  below,  where  their  withdrawal  so  affected  a 
large  number  of  the  green  crew  that  they  also  deserted 
their  stations  and  fled  below  in  great  terror.  Nichol- 
son had  less  than  fifty  officers  and  men  left  to  work  the 
crippled  ship,  clear  away  the  wreck,  and  fight  the 
enemy — but  those  left,  like  Gideon's  three  hundred, 
were  of  the  very  best.  He  did  not  think  of  surrendering 
even  then,  and  for  more  than  an  hour  they  actually 
kept  up  a  desperate  and  hopeless  battle,  the  captain 
and  officers  serving  the  guns  with  their  own  hands. 
Finally  when  nearly  forty  per  cent,  of  the  little  band 
had  been  killed  or  wounded,  a  third  English  ship  came 
up  and  took  position  across  the  stern  of  the  helpless 
Trumbull  and  prepared  to  rake.  TheTrumbull  had  only 
one  mast  left  standing,  her  gun-ports  had  been  beaten 
in,  many  guns  dismounted,  and  Lieutenant  Murray 
was  badly  wounded ;  to  fight  longer  was  to  be  murdered 
at  their  stations  or  to  sink  alongside;  there  was  nothing 
more  to  gain,  and  Nicholson  reluctantly  struck  the  flag 
he  had  so  gallantly  defended.  With  less  than  fifty  men, 
on  a  wrecked  ship,  he  had  fought  nearly  a  thousand 


136     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

men  in  three  ships,  two  of  which  were  larger  than  his 
own.  This  was  certainly  as  honorable  and  singular 
an  action  as  was  ever  fought  upon  the  seas,  it  reminds 
one  of  Sir  Richard  Grenville's  heroic  defense  of  the 
Revenge.  The  Iris  was  much  cut  up  and  reported  seven 
killed  and  wounded,  the  loss  on  the  other  ships  was 
never  ascertained. 


III.    BARNEY    AND   THE    HTDER  ALLY 

THE  only  naval  officer  of  the  Revolution  who  survived 
to  bear  a  successful  part  in  the  War  of  1812  was  Joshua 
Barney.  He  had  served  with  credit  on  a  number  of 
small  cruisers  and  private  armed  vessels,  and  had  been 
commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  the  navy  when  in  the  year 
1782  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Hyder  Ally,  a 
converted  merchantman  owned  by  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  armed  with  sixteen  six-pounders.  She 
was  to  be  used  to  convoy  merchant  ships  between 
Philadelphia  and  the  Capes  of  the  Delaware.  On  the 
eighth  of  April,  in  the  same  year,  in  company  with  a 
large  fleet  of  some  forty  merchantmen  she  dropped 
down  to  Cape  May  Roads.  While  they  were  waiting  for 
a  favorable  slant  of  wind  to  get  to  sea,  three  English 
cruisers  were  seen  coming  in  past  the  Capes,  which  at 
once  made  for  the  merchant  vessels.  In  obedience  to 
Barney's  signals  to  fly,  all  but  one  of  the  convoy  made 
sail  up  the  bay.  That  disobedient  one  attempted  to  get 
to  sea  on  her  own  account,  struck  on  a  shoal  and  was 
captured.  Barney  leisurely  followed  the  fleeing  mer- 
chantmen, hugging  the  shore  the  while,  which  his  light- 
er draft  permitted,  in  order  to  cover  their  retreat. 

The  first  of  the  English  chasing  ships  edged  in  to- 


Some  Minor  Sea-Fights          137 

ward  the  Hyder  Ally  and  exchanged  broadsides  with 
her.  Finding  her  rather  heavier  than  she  thought,  she 
made  off,  continuing  in  her  efforts  to  overhaul  the 
fleeing  convoy.  She  was  a  smaller  ship  than  Barney's, 
so  he  made  no  effort  to  chase  and  coolly  waited  for 
larger  game.  The  third  English  ship,  the  frigate 
Quebec,  had  been  forced  to  make  a  wide  detour  and 
could  not  come  within  gunshot  of  the  American  on  ac- 
count of  the  shoal  water ;  but  the  second,  a  twenty-gun 
sloop-of-war,  called  the  General  Monk,  dashed  boldly 
at  her,  expecting  an  easy  prey.  Barney  had  instructed 
his  quartermaster  at  the  wheel  to  do  the  very  opposite 
thing  that  he  commanded,  thus  if  he  ordered  the  helm 
to  starboard,  it  was  to  be  put  to  larboard,  and  so  on. 
As  the  English  ship  drew  near,  Barney  loudly  gave  a 
number  of  orders  which,  if  they  had  been  carried  out, 
would  have  resulted  in  laying  his  ship  parallel  to 
that  of  the  enemy.  As  the  Englishman  made  his  prep- 
arations for  the  expected  manoeuver,  he  was  aston- 
ished to  see  the  Hyder  Ally,  after  exchanging  a  fierce 
broadside  with  him,  swing  in  toward  him  and  cross 
his  bow,  before  he  could  prevent  it.  He  was  raked  at 
once  and  as  the  two  ships  came  together,  his  jib-boom 
was  thrust  across  the  American's  deck,  when  it  was  at 
once  securely  lashed  to  the  main-shrouds  by  Barney's 
own  hands. 

As  the  English  ship  swung  partially  around  on  the 
quarter  of  the  Hyder  Ally,  some  of  her  guns  bore  so 
that  she  was  not  completely  helpless.  The  Americans 
now  delivered  the  fire  of  their  battery  with  unexam- 
pled rapidity,  discharging  not  less  than  twenty  broad- 
sides in  twenty-six  minutes,  the  English  reply  grow- 
ing more  feeble  after  each  broadside.  The  General 
Monk  was  terribly  smashed  up  fore  and  aft,  losing  fif- 


138     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

ty-three  out  of  her  crew  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-six, 
or  forty  per  cent.,  and  in  thirty  minutes  she  struck  her 
flag!  The  English  ship  carried  twenty  nine-pounders 
throwing  ninety  pounds  to  the  broadside,  as  against 
Barney's  sixteen  six-pounders  throwing  forty-eight! 
Throwing  a  prize-crew  on  board,  not  even  taking 
time  to  ascertain  the  name  of  the  ship  he  had  captured, 
the  Hyder  Ally  and  the  prize  at  once  made  sail  up  the 
bay,  and  though  hotly  pursued  by  the  British  frigate 
when  they  reached  deep  water,  the  other  armed  vessel 
keeping  considerately  out  of  way,  they  succeeded  in 
effecting  their  escape. 

The  comment  of  J.  Fenimore  Cooper  on  this  tidy 
little  fight  is  as  follows :  "This  action  has  been  justly 
deemed  one  of  the  most  brilliant  that  ever  occurred 
under  the  American  flag.  It  was  fought  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  vastly  superior  force  that  was  not  engaged; 
and  the  ship  taken  was,  in  every  essential  respect,  su- 
perior to  her  conqueror.  The  disproportion  in  metal 
between  a  six-pounder  and  a  nine-pounder,  is  one  half; 
and  the  Monk,  besides  being  a  heavier  and  larger  ship, 
had  the  most  men." 

The  General  Monk  had  been  originally  an  American 
armed  ship  called  the  General  Washington.  She 
was  restored  to  the  service  under  her  old  name  and 
Barney  made  several  successful  cruises  in  her.  In  the 
War  of  1812,  after  making  some  brilliant  and  success- 
ful privateering  cruises,  Commodore  Barney  command- 
ed the  gunboat  flotilla  in  the  Chesapeake  and  on  the 
Potomac,  in  which  he  fought  several  courageous  ac- 
tions against  superior  force.  At  the  disastrous  land 
battle  of  Bladensburg,  which  preceded  the  capture  of 
Washington,  when  the  American  militia  were  routed 
by  the  British  regulars,  Barney  and  five  hundred  of  his 
seamen,  who  manned  a  battery  posted  on  a  little  hill 


Some  Minor  Sea-Fights          139 

in  the  American  lines,  almost  redeemed  the  disgrace 
to  our  arms  by  the  desperate  courage  with  which  they 
fought  their  guns  and  repulsed  the  enemy,  until  the 
commodore  himself  was  seriously  wounded,  many  of 
his  men  killed,  and  the  little  force  surrounded  by  over- 
whelming numbers,  when  they  reluctantly  surrendered. 
Barney  died  in  1818,  after  nearly  forty  years  of  con- 
spicuous and  daring  naval  service. 


IV.  BARRY  AND  THE  ALLIANCE 

AFTER  Jones  and  Biddle  the  most  eminent  of  the  Amer- 
ican naval  commanders  in  the  Revolution  was  John 
Barry,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  America  in 
early  youth  and  followed  the  sea  for  a  livelihood.  He 
was  the  first  regularly  commissioned  officer  of  the  navy 
to  get  to  sea  as  a  lieutenant  in  command  of  the  small 
armed  brig  Lexington,  sixteen  guns  and  seventy-five 
men.  On  April  16,  1775,  he  fell  in  with  the  armed 
tender  Edivard,  eight  guns  and  thirty-five  men.  After 
a  spirited  action  of  an  hour  in  which  the  Edward  was 
cut  to  pieces  and  lost  a  large  portion  of  her  crew  she 
was  captured.  For  this  service  Barry  was  made  a  cap- 
tain and  given  command  of  the  Effingham,  28.  In 
the  summer  of  1 777  she  was  blockaded  in  the  Delaware 
by  the  British  expedition  under  Howe,  but  the  gallant 
Barry,  pining  under  his  enforced  inaction,  planned  a 
cutting  out  expedition,  and  with  four  boats  captured 
a  ten-gun  schooner-of-war  without  the  loss  of  a  man. 
In  the  face  of  superior  force  he  burned  the  schooner 
and  retreated  safely. 

He  was  next  given  command  of  the  frigate  Raleigh, 
32.  In  this  vessel  he  was  chased  off  the  New  England 
coast  for  several  days,  in  1778,  by  two  ships,  the  Uni- 


140     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

corn,  28,  and  the  Experiment,  50.  Barry  manoeuvered 
his  vessel  brilliantly  but  was  unable  to  escape.  The 
Unicorn  succeeded  in  closing  with  him  and  a  spirited 
action  ensued.  The  Raleigh  was  much  cut  up,  but  the 
Unicorn  was  beaten  and  would  have  been  captured  by 
boarding,  had  it  not  been  for  the  advent  of  the  Experi- 
ment. Under  a  heavy  fire  from  both  ships,  which  he 
returned  with  spirit,  Barry  ran  the  Raleigh  ashore,  in- 
tending to  burn  her.  While  he  was  on  shore,  however, 
superintending  the  erection  of  a  battery  and  making 
preparations  to  land  the  crew,  the  Raleigh  was  sur- 
rendered by  one  of  her  officers.  She  lost  twenty-five 
in  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  Unicorn  had  lost  ten 
killed  and  many  wounded.  Barry  gained  much  credit 
for  his  determined  and  gallant  resistance  to  vastly  su- 
perior force. 

In  1781  he  was  given  the  command  of  the  Alliance, 
32,  the  best  frigate  in  the  American  navy.  After  taking 
Laurens  to  France,  he  sailed  on  a  cruise  in  English 
waters  in  company  with  the  Lafayette,  a  French  letter- 
of-marque.  On  April  third,  the  two  ships  made  prizes 
of  the  twenty-six-gun  privateer  Mars,  and  the  ten-gun 
privateer  Minerva.  Leaving  the  prizes  to  the  care  of 
the  Frenchman,  the  Alliance  continued  her  cruise  alone 
with  much  success,  taking  many  merchant  ships.  On 
May  twenty-eighth,  two  sail  were  discovered.  The 
wind,  which  had  been  very  light,  entirely  died  away  and 
left  the  Alliance  becalmed.  A  little  breeze  still  re- 
mained with  the  strangers,  however,  and  aided  by  large 
sweeps,  they  succeeded  in  taking  up  positions  on  both 
quarters  of  the  frigate,  where  they  commenced  action. 
For  over  an  hour  they  poured  their  broadsides  into  the 
American  ship,  which  only  had  three  nine-pounders 
she  could  bring  to  bear  to  return  the  attack  of  an 


Some  Minor  Sea-Fights          141 

eighteen-gun  brig  and  a  fourteen-gun  brig.  The  un- 
fortunate Alliance  lay  like  a  log  in  the  still  water  and 
was  an  easy  mark  for  her  antagonists,  who  were  calmly 
pounding  her  to  pieces  at  their  leisure.  After  an  hour's 
combat,  just  as  Barry,  who  had  been  severely  wounded 
by  grape  shot,  was  being  carried  below  and  the  Ameri- 
can flag  had  been  shot  away,  a  little  breeze  sprang  up 
which  filled  the  sails  of  the  frigate.  The  British  think- 
ing the  Alliance  had  surrendered  had  left  their  guns 
and  were  cheering  gaily — they  were  soon  undeceived. 
As  the  American  swung  around,  her  heavy  batteries 
came  into  play.  Sailing  down  between  the  two  ships, 
delivering  her  fire  right  and  left,  she  soon  forced  them 
to  strike.  They  proved  to  be  the  brigs-of-war  Atalanta 
and  Trepassy. '  The  English  loss  was  twenty-one  killed 
and  thirty  wounded;  the  American,  eleven  killed  and 
two  wounded. 

Still  in  command  of  the  Alliance,  in  1782,  Barry 
fought  the  last  action  of  the  war.  Coming  out  of 
Havana  carrying  specie,  he  was  chased  by  three  British 
frigates.  As  the  day  wore  away,  a  French  fifty-gun 
ship  appeared  on  the  horizon,  whereupon,  supposing 
he  would  be  supported  by  her,  the  brave  Barry  imme- 
diately went  about  and  stood  for  the  nearest  English 
frigate.  The  other  two  frigates  maneuvered  about  the 
Frenchman  without  coming  into  action  with  her. 
Meanwhile  the  Alliance  was  hotly  engaged  with  her 
enemy,  which  proved  to  be  the  Sibylle,  38,  a  slightly 
superior  ship  to  the  Alliance.  After  an  hour's  conflict 
the  two  English  ships,  in  obedience  to  a  signal  of  dis- 
tress from  the  Sibylle,  abandoned  their  projected  attack 
upon  the  French  fifty-gun  ship  and  made  for  Barry, 
who  was  forced  to  haul  off  without  taking  possession 
of  his  beaten  enemy.  The  Sibylle  was  a  wreck.  She 


142     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

had  lost  eighty-seven  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  loss 
of  the  Alliance  was  only  three  killed  and  eleven  wound- 
ed. Barry  had  spurned  several  attempts  which  the 
British  made  to  bribe  him  to  renounce  his  allegiance. 
One  offer  is  said  to  have  amounted  to  fifteen  thousand 
pounds  and  the  command  of  the  best  frigate  in  the 
British  navy.  He  lived  to  become  the  head  of 
the  American  navy  and  performed  good  service  in  the 
war  with  France.  He  died  full  of  honors  in  1803. 


YORKTOWN 


THE  drums  were  beating  a  parley.  An  alert  officer  in 
an  American  battery  heard  a  faint  tap-tap-tapping 
above  the  roar  of  the  cannonade ;  at  his  word  the  bat- 
tery he  commanded  ceased  its  discharge;  the  drum 
taps  were  heard  more  plainly,  rolling,  rattling  with 
ever  increasing  volume.  Presently  other  ears  caught 
the  welcome  sound  and  gun  after  gun  became  curiously 
silent.  The  tremendous  roar  which  for  the  past  week 
had  filled  the  air  gradually  diminished  in  volume  until 
a  stillness  like  death  supervened.  As  the  smoke  blew 
away  from  the  muzzles  of  the  silent  guns  the  soldiers 
came  running  from  their  tents  on  the  hills  back  of  the 
batteries ;  the  long  roll  of  the  drums  was  plainly  audible 
now ;  rap-a-tap-tap-tap,  rap-a-tap-tap-tap — what  was  it  ? 

With  hopes  high  they  listened.  There  were  trained 
ears  there  and  they  recognized  the  cadence;  yes,  they 
were  beating  a  parley,  and  there,  above  the  battered 
embrasures,  rose  a  white  flag  in  the  clear  morning. 
It  was  a  surrender  then !  The  great  fleet  of  De  Grasse 
down  in  Lynn  Haven  Bay  actually  heard  the  wild 
cheering  which  rose  from  the  throats  of  the  excited 
men.  The  war  was  over !  They  were  free ! 

When  the  noise  had  partially  died  away,  two  scarlet- 

M3 


144     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

coated  horsemen  could  be  seen  under  a  flag  of  truce, 
advancing  from  the  British  works — the  cheering  rose 
in  volume  until  it  might  have  drowned  the  cannonade ! 
Instantly  all  was  commotion  in  the  staff  of  the  great 
general,  who  calmly  sat  his  white  horse  keenly  over- 
looking the  scene  and  apparently  unmoved  by  the 
wild  tumult  of  joy  about  him — only  apparently,  how- 
ever, for  his  heart  beat  as  madly  as  that  of  the  youngest 
blade  in  the  army;  it  meant  so  much  to  him  and  so 
much  more  to  his  country,  these  beating  drums  with 
their  message  of  submission.  By  his  orders,  two 
young  officers,  one  a  Frenchman,  the  other  an  Ameri- 
can, separated  themselves  from  the  cortege  surround- 
ing Washington  and  Rochainbeau,  and  galloped  rapid- 
ly forward  to  meet  the  new-comers.  There  was  a  sweet 
interchange  of  courtesy  between  the  lines,  a  little  col- 
loquy, and  then  with  military  salutes  each  group 
returned  to  its  entrenchments ;  on  one  side  "the  robings 
of  glory"  on  the  other,  "the  gloom  of  defeat !"  As  the 
Americans  rode  through  their  line,  though  they  spoke 
no  word  until  they  reached  their  general,  they  wore 
that  in  their  faces  which  gave  the  dullest  soldier 
official  confirmation  of  what  had  not  been  doubted. 
Cornwallis  wished — or  rather  he  did  not  wish,  but  was 
forced — to  surrender ! 

We  left  him,  after  his  disastrous  victory  at  Guilford, 
slowly  making  his  way  to  the  seaboard,  having  been 
shouldered  out  of  North  Carolina  by  Greene's  strategy 
and  determination.  When  he  reached  Wilmington  he 
found  no  transports  nor  vessels  of  war  and,  in  great 
perplexity,  he  decided  to  march  into  Virginia.  To  go 
back  to  Charleston  would  involve  a  tremendous  journey 
through  the  country  swarming  with  Greene's  partizans, 
and  besides  it  would  be  tantamount  to  a  confession 


Yorktown  145 

of  defeat,  for  that  had  been  his  point  of  departure. 
There  was  a  large  British  force  already  in  Virginia, 
which  was  distant  only  a  few  hundred  miles,  under 
the  command  of  Phillips,  whom  we  saw  at  Saratoga, 
and  the  traitor  Arnold.  He  might  get  there  easily 
enough  and  combine  his  little  force,  now  less  than  two 
thousand  men,  with  the  troops  of  Phillips  and,  in  a 
whirlwind  campaign,  overthrow  the  great  State  of  Vir- 
ginia. A  brilliant  stroke  or  two  would  also  serve  to 
redeem  his  reputation  as  a  strategist,  which  was  some- 
what dimmed  in  the  light  of  Greene's  superb  cam- 
paigning, though  no  man  ever  could  or  did  question  his 
character  as  a  skilful  fighter  and  a  man  of  courage. 

Arnold  and  Phillips  were  opposed  by  a  few  Conti- 
nentals detached  by  Washington  and  some  militia 
under  Lafayette  and  Steuben.  Cornwallis  despised 
the  Frenchman;  "The  boy  cannot  escape  me,"  he  ex- 
claimed, when  he  took  command.  The  famous  mar- 
quis was  only  twenty-three  years  old  at  the  time,  yet 
neither  of  the  veteran  British  generals  had  ever  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  him  to  an  engagement,  and  Cornwal- 
lis found  it  equally  impossible.  He  hovered  on  their 
flanks,  cutting  off  light  parties,  and  rendering  foraging 
unprofitable  and  kept  his  little  army  together  which 
was  about  all  any  one  could  expect  of  him.  When 
Cornwallis  effected  a  junction  with  the  English  troops 
in  Virginia,  to  the  great  joy  of  all  the  subordinate 
English  officers,  he  displaced  Arnold,  who  had  succeed- 
ed to  the  command  on  the  death  of  Phillips  from  illness ; 
and  "allowed"  him  to  return  to  New  York  on  the  plea 
of  urgent  business — for  the  gallant  soldier  and  noble- 
man never  could  stomach  a  traitor.  It  was  a  lucky 
thing  for  Arnold  in  the  end  that  he  received  this  per- 
mission, and  a  lucky  thing,  perhaps,  in  the  end  for  the 


146     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Americans,  for  had  they  captured  him  they  would 
certainly  have  hanged  him,  and  perhaps  it  was  better 
to  let  him  live  out  his  life  and  die  as  he  did,  than  to 
offer  him  even  the  poor  expiation  of  the  gallows  for 
his  ineffable  treachery. 

The  indefatigable  Tarleton  had  recovered  somewhat 
from  his  defeat  at  the  Cowpens,  and  in  command  of 
a  new  legion  of  cavalry,  mounted  on  the  swift  horses 
for  which  Virginia  was  famous,  ravaged  the  country 
far  and  wide;  at  one  time  capturing  the  Legislature 
and  being  within  twenty  minutes  of  taking  the  coveted 
person  of  Thomas  Jefferson  himself.  The  marauders 
did  much  damage  and  destroyed  great  quantities  of 
private  property,  but  in  the  end  effected  little — to  ma- 
raud is  not  to  wage  war,  it  makes  mad  people  madder, 
that  is  all !  Washington  now  sent  Wayne  to  reinforce 
Lafayette  with  the  veteran  Pennsylvania  Continental 
line.  Cornwallis  then  moved  back  toward  the  coast; 
not  retreating,  for  he  was  under  no  necessity  whatever 
of  doing  so,  but  because  he  was  desirous  of  establish- 
ing a  strong  base  on  the  Chesapeake,  and  opening 
communications  with  his  commander-in-chief,  Sir  Hen- 
ry Clinton,  at  New  York. 

Lafayette  followed  closely  and  actually  attacked  the 
British  rear  at  Williamsbufg.  Wayne,  in  command  of 
the  advance,  was  partially  ambushed  and  found  him- 
self with  about  nine  hundred  light  infantry  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  British  rear-guard  of  about  two  thousand 
men,  having  a  further  advantage  in  their  position.  To 
retreat  was  to  be  destroyed.  The  situation  was  one 
in  which  Wayne  gloried.  He  immediately  attacked 
with  such  spirit  that  the  British  imagined  he  was  sup- 
ported by  the  whole  army  and,  though  they  drove  him 
off  after  a  stubborn  combat,  in  which  each  side  lost 


Yorktown  147 

about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  they  made  no  attempt 
to  pursue — which  was  lucky  for  Wayne!  Cornwallis 
finally  reached  Yorktown  on  the  Chesapeake,  at  which 
point  he  had  ordered  the  garrison  at  Portsmouth  to 
assemble  and  where  he  threw  up  strong  fortifications, 
unwittingly  digging  in  the  place  the  grave  of  his  hopes. 
Lafayette  moved  down  with  his  little  army  to  Malvern 
Hill,  a  good  position  to  retreat  from  if  attacked,  or  to 
attack  from  if  the' enemy  attempted  to  cross  the  James. 
The  Frenchman  had  displayed  great  tact  and  ability 
in  his  conduct  of  this  campaign;  he  was  too  feeble  in 
force,  he  wrote  to  Washington,  even  to  be  beaten,  and 
more  afraid  of  his  own  impetuosity  than  of  the  enemy ! 
Secure  in  his  forts,  Cornwallis  was  actually  so  little 
aware  of  the  thunderbolt  which  was  about  to  be 
launched  upon  him  and  of  the  imminent  peril  of  his 
situation,  that  he  offered  to  send  some  of  his  force  to 
Clinton  whom  he  imagined  to  be  hard  pressed  by 
Washington  at  New  York. 

But  in  the  mind  of  that  prescient  commander  a  great 
campaign  had  been  evolved.  By  the  strenuous  efforts 
of  the  French  Minister  of  Marine,  a  splendid  fleet  of 
twenty-eight  sail-of-the-line  and  six  frigates  had  sailed 
from  France  to  the  West  Indies  under  the  command  of 
the  Comte  de  Grasse,  their  most  efficient  admiral — 
supposed — and  the  command  of  the  sea  passed  from  the 
British  on  account  of  this  French  preponderance  of 
force;  only  for  a  time,  however,  but  long  enough  for 
Washington.  The  great  American  realized  that  if  he 
could  make  a  combination  between  the  sea  forces  of 
De  Grasse  and  the  land  forces  under  his  command,  the 
result  would  be  finally  disastrous  for  the  British.  His 
mind  at  first  had  determined  upon  New  York  as  the 
point  for  the  combined  attack,  but  he  easily  accepted 


148     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

the  turn  of  the  situation  given  by  the  assemblage  of  the 
large  army  under  Cornwallis  in  Virginia.  As  soon  as 
he  learned  of  the  earl's  arrival,  he  had  outlined  his  plan 
to  Rochambeau,  and  they  had  jointly  written  a  letter 
which  he  despatched  toDe  Grasse  by  a  fast  ship,  implor- 
ing him  to  meet  them  in  the  Chesapeake  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible; which  he  at  once  promised  to  do.  On  August 
14,  1781,  Washington  received  his  reply,  stating  that 
he  had  started  with  his  whole  fleet  for  the  bay. 

The  Continentals  were  cantoned  on  the  Hudson,  the 
Frenchmen  in  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut ;  at  New- 
port there  was  a  squadron  under  De  Barras,  who  was 
the  senior  in  rank  to  De  Grasse  but  generously  agreed 
to  serve  under  him  in  the  campaign,  at  the  solicitation 
of  Washington  and  Rochambeau,  and  he  at  once 
made  ready  to  sail  for  the  Chesapeake  to  join  the 
French  fleet;  while  Washington  prepared  to  hurl  his 
army  a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles,  presenting  his 
flank  en  route  to  an  enemy  strongly  posted  at  New 
York,  in  an  effort  to  capture  Cornwallis  and  his  army. 
It  was  a  strategic  conception  of  surpassing  boldness 
and,  if  there  were  nothing  else,  would  stamp  Washing- 
ton as  a  strategist  of  the  first  order ;  the  only  other  simi- 
lar military  achievement  which  compares  with  it  was 
the  famous  manoeuver  of  Napoleon,  when  he  threw  his 
army  from  the  channel  seaboard  into  Bavaria  in  the 
Ulm  campaign.  Washington  communicated  his  plan 
absolutely  to  no  one  but  Rochambeau;  not  an  officer 
in  the  army,  not  even  those  of  the  highest  rank,  had  the 
slightest  idea  of  what  he  intended  to  do.  It  was  one  of 
the  best  kept  secrets  of  military  history.  It  was  a 
maxim  with  Washington  that  it  was  impossible  to  de- 
ceive an  enemy  by  manoeuvers  unless  his  own  force  was 
deceived  at  the  same  time.  He  therefore  caused  en- 


Yorktown  149 

trenchments  to  be  laid  out  in  the  Jerseys  below  New 
York;  bake-ovens  and  quarters  to  be  built  as  if  for 
an  extended  stay;  and  gave  out  everywhere  that  he 
intended  to  move  his  army  to  the  southward  and  from 
that  point  effect  the  dislodgement  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
via  Staten  Island. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  August  the  troops  began  to 
cross  the  Hudson  River.  Washington  left  a  large 
force  strongly  fortified  on  the  Hudson  under  General 
Heath  and  took  with  him  two  thousand  of  his  best 
Continentals  and  about  four  thousand  Frenchmen. 
The  army  marched  in  extended  order  with  the  greatest 
rapidity.  Everybody,  including  the  English  them- 
selves, felt  certain  that  Washington  was  about  to  be- 
gin a  campaign  against  New  York,  and  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  watching  the  long  dusty  ranks  defiling  before 
his  works  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  made  every 
preparation  for  a  determined  resistance,  concentrating 
his  troops  and  strengthening  his  works  and  recalling 
all  his  detachments,  which  left  him  more  in  the  dark 
than  ever.  It  was  not  until  the  advance  reached  New 
Brunswick  and  the  men  found  they  were  still  headed  for 
the  south,  that  an  idea  where  they  were  going  began  to 
dawn  in  the  minds  of  the  soldiers  and  officers.  When 
they  reached  Philadelphia  on  the  second  of  September, 
it  was  a  secret  no  longer.  "Long  live  Washington," 
was  the  toast  of  the  day.  "He  is  gone  to  catch  Corn- 
wallis  in  his  mouse-trap !" 

The  Americans  led  the  march  and  passed  through 
the  capital  to  the  music  of  fife  and  drum  at  quick  time. 
In  their  ragged  uniforms  and  covered  with  the  dust  of 
the  march,  those  old  Continentals  made  a  strange 
sight,  but  the  spectators  looked  from  the  great  general 
riding  at  the  head  of  his  staff  to  the  army  following 


150     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

rapidly  after,  and  noted  the  long,  swinging  step,  the  dis- 
ciplined easy  carriage,  the  polished  gun-barrels  and 
gleaming  bayonets,  and  felt  that  the  rags  could  not  hide 
the  quality  of  the  soldiery.  The  patriotic  women  of 
the  city,  'matrons  and  maids,  showered  flowers  and 
cheers  upon  their  countrymen  and  under  the  influence 
of  their  bright  smiles  with  hearts  growing  lighter  as 
each  step  brought  them  nearer  their  goal,  they  marched 
away.  They  were  followed  the  next  day  by  the  French 
contingent.  The  latter  had  lost  time  and  distance, 
caused  by  a  halt  outside  of  the  town  to  brush  the  dust 
from  their  uniforms  and  equipments  and  put  on  their 
bravest  attire.  A  very  different  showing  they  made  as 
they  marched  down  Chestnut  Street  past  the  State  House 
where  they  were  reviewed  by  Congress;  regiments 
with  old  world  names  which  spoke  of  the  glory  and 
power  of  France,  Rochambeau  and  his  brilliant  staff 
in  the  lead,  their  uniforms  of  gold  and  white  sparkling 
in  the  sun ;  but  they  were  men,  too ;  they  had  shown  it  in 
the  past,  they  were  to  show  it  then ;  aye,  and  in  the 
future  as  well.  Among  the  aides  of  the  French  com- 
mander was  one  Berthier,  whom  history  saw  later  as 
a  Marshal  of  France  under  the  great  Napoleon ! 

When  the  eager  Washington — ever  in  the  lead — 
reached  Chester,  he  received  the  news  that  the  combi- 
nation was  a  success,  and  that  De  Grasse  had  entered 
the  Chesapeake  on  the  thirty-first  of  August !  A  cloud, 
like  the  famous  man's  hand,  had  arisen  above  Cornwal- 
lis'  horizon  with  the  entrance  of  those  ships  in  the  bay, 
but  as  he  never  dreamed  but  that  the  British  would 
brush  them  away  presently,  he  remained  reasonably 
confident  still — and  there  was  no  Elijah  in  his  camp  to 
read  the  future  for  him.  Washington  was  so  delighted 
with  the  news  that  he  rode  back  to  Philadelphia  and  in- 


Yorktown  151 

formed  Congress  and  Rochambeau.  Cornwallis  might 
have  broken  through  the  thin  ranks  of  Lafayette,  but 
where  would  he  have  gone  afterward  ?  North  into  the 
hands  of  Washington;  or  south,  into  the  arms  of 
Greene  ?  He  had  had  enough  of  both  of  these  generals, 
so  he  concluded  to-  await  the  arrival  of  the  British  fleet, 
still  unconscious  of  the  storm  cloud  looming  up  very 
black  now  on  every  side  of  the  horizon.  When  the 
armies  reached  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay  on  the 
fifth  of  September,  they  found  transports  had  assem- 
bled, upon  which  they  were  embarked  and  taken  down 
the  bay.  Meanwhile  De  Grasse  had  landed  three  thou- 
sand troops  under  St.  Simon  and  on  the  eighth  of  Sep- 
tember, while  Eutaw  Springs  was  being  fought  in  the 
Carolinas,  by  Lafayette's  command  the  allied  armies 
moved  down  and  took  a  position  squarely  across  the 
peninsula  in  front  of  Yorktown.  Cornwallis  was 
'"corked,"  like  another  later  commander,  "in  a  bottle;" 
and  the  cork  was  pressed  down,  driven  in. 

Washington  stopped  for  two  days  at  his  beloved 
Mount  Vernon,  which  he  had  not  seen  for  six  years,  en- 
tertaining Rochambeau  and  the  French  officers  with  old 
time  Virginia  hospitality,  while  his  army  swept  down 
the  Chesapeake.  On  the  fourteenth  of  September  he 
arrived  at  the  camp  and  took  command ;  by  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  September  the  whole  of  his  army  had  joined 
forces  with  Lafayette  and  St.  Simon,  and  on  the  sixth 
of  October  Cornwallis  withdrew  into  his  fortifications 
and  the  investment  began.  There  were  about  seven 
thousand  Frenchmen,  five  thousand  five  hundred  Con- 
tinentals, and  three  thousand  five  hundred  militia  under 
Governor  Nelson  in  Washington's  army.  The  first 
parallel  was  opened  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the 
British  works  on  the  same  night  by  General  Lincoln ;  it 


152     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

was  completed  in  three  days,  batteries  were  mounted 
and,  with  his  own  hand,  Washington  fired  the  first 
gun. 

Before  all  this  had  happened,  however,  Admiral 
Graves,  who  commanded  the  British  fleet  at  New  York, 
having  been  reinforced  by  a  squadron  sent  him  by  Sir 
Samuel  Hood,  had  sailed  down  the  coast  with  twenty 
ships-of-the-line  to  dispute  the  control  of  the  sea  with 
De  Grasse.  Although  a  large  number  of  French  seamen 
were  absent  with  the  vessels  transporting  the  Amer- 
ican army  down  the  bay,  and  De  Barras  had  not  yet 
joined  them  with  his  squadron,  De  Grasse  immediately 
put  to  sea  on  the  fifth  of  September  with  twenty-four 
ships,  leaving  the  rest  to  continue  the  blockade.  The 
two  fleets  manceuvered  for  four  days,  the  French  skil- 
fully keeping  the  weather-gage,  and  an  indecisive  action 
was  fought  on  the  seventh  of  September  in  which  the 
British,  fewer  in  numbers,  sustained  considerably  more 
damage  than  the  French,  losing  one  ship-of-the-line 
and  many  killed.  The  two  admirals  learned  at  the 
same  time  that  De  Barras  had  entered  the  Chesapeake 
and  Graves,  now  greatly  inferior  in  force  and  disheart- 
ened by  his  repulses,  went  back  to  New  York  and  De 
Grasse  returned  to  the  Chesapeake.  It  was  substan- 
tially a  victory  for  the  French,  but  it  was  a  good  thing 
for  De  Grasse,  and  it  was  a  good  thing  for  the  Ameri- 
ican  Revolution,  too,  that  Rodney  was  sick  in  England 
and  not  in  Graves'  place.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  found 
means  to  communicate  with  Cornwallis  on  the  return 
of  Graves,  and  informed  him  that  the  British  sea  power 
would  soon  be  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  another 
squadron  and  that  he  would  sail  for  his  relief  as  soon 
as  possible.  Cornwallis  replied  that  he  was  entirely 
confident  of  holding  out  as  long  as  necessary.  That 
was  before  Washington's  arrival. 


o 
>> 


"  I 

rt)  K/I 

tyj  ^ 

V  U 

C/5  J: 


Yorktown  153 

To  return  to  the  siege,  the  cannonading  was  kept  up 
from  an  ever  increasing  number  of  guns  with  the  ut- 
most fury.  At  first  there  had  been  much  skirmishing 
between  Tarleton's  Legion  and  the  French  Hussars, 
under  the  Due  de  Lauzun,  without  decisive  results; 
though  there  were  individual  encounters  on  both  sides 
in  which  great  personal  gallantry  was  displayed.  On 
the  night  of  the  eleventh  of  October  the  second  parallel 
was  opened  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the  British 
works.  Unfortunately  for  this  parallel,  however,  the 
British  had  two  redoubts  on  the  river  side  which  en- 
filaded the  works  and  rendered  them  untenable.  Wash- 
ington determined  to  carry  them  by  storm.  The  one 
nearest  the  river  was  allotted  to  the  Americans  and  the 
one  further  inland,  larger  and  more  formidable,  was 
claimed  by  the  French.  Two  storming  parties,  the 
Americans  under  the  command  of  Alexander  Hamilton, 
and  the  French  under  the  leadership  of  the  Baron  de 
Viomenil,  were  detailed  to  make  the  attempt.  At  eight 
o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth,  when  it  was 
quite  dark,  the  attacks  were  delivered. 

The  Americans,  without  waiting  for  the  pioneers  to 
clear  the  way,  rushed  impetuously  up  to  the  abattis  and 
tore  it  apart  with  their  hands,  the  little  Hamilton,  using 
a  soldier's  back  as  a  stepping-stone,  sprang  into  the 
fort  sword  in  hand,  followed  by  his  men.  There  was 
a  sharp  conflict  in  the  redoubt  and  the  British,  sur- 
rounded and  outnumbered,  threw  down  their  arms 
and  surrendered.  The  guns  of  the  redoubt  were  at  once 
swung  to  the  inside  and  added  their  death-dealing 
missives  to  the  American  cannonade  which  was  going 
on  furiously  at  the  time.  Hamilton  immediately  des- 
patched an  aide  to  the  Baron  de  Viomenil  to  inform 
him  of  his  success.  The  French  had  waited  to  deliver 
their  attack  while  their  pioneers  cut  down  the  abattis, 


154     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

according  to  rule.  Hamilton's  aide  found  the  French 
chafing  in  impatience  under  a  hot  fire  from  the  fort, 
which  was  inflicting  considerable  loss.  When  the 
Baron  de  Viomenil  was  informed  that  the  Americans 
had  captured  their  fort,  he  sent  the  officer  back  to  tell 
Hamilton  that  he  was  not  yet  in  his,  but  would  be,  in 
five  minutes. 

The  Gatinois  grenadiers  had  the  honor  of  leading 
the  French  advance.  They  had  formerly  belonged  to 
the  old  Auvergne  regiment  which  had  been  once  com- 
manded by  Rochambeau  himself,  and  which,  for  its 
heroic  gallantry  on  many  fields,  had  been  known  as 
Auvergne  sans  tache.  When  Rochambeau  had  ad- 
dressed them  before  the  attack  they  had  promised 
everything  if  he  would  get  their  old  name  restored  to 
them.  By  their  heroic  conduct  in  this  action  they  ob- 
tained their  desire,  and  were  henceforward  known  as 
the  Royal  Auvergne.  As  soon  as  the  abattis  was  bro- 
ken down,  the  Frenchmen  with  resistless  valor  rushed 
into  the  fort,  effecting  its  capture  in  short  order.  Wash- 
ington had  ridden  into  the  parallel  nearest  the  British 
batteries  and  a  member  of  his  staff,  in  great  anxiety 
lest  his  commander-in-chief's  life  should  be  sacrificed 
thus  uselessly,  ventured  to  suggest  that  it  would  be 
safer  to  retire  as  the  place  was  much  exposed.  "If 
you  think  so,  sir,"  said  Washington,  with  unusual 
sharpness,  "you  are  at  liberty  to  step  back."  The  next 
moment  the  cannon  by  which  Washington  was  stand- 
ing was  struck.  As  his  officers  sprang  to  his  side, 
fearful  lest  he  had  been  wounded,  General  Knox 
grasped  his  arm  exclaiming,  "My  dear  general,  we 
can't  spare  you  yet."  "It  is  a  spent  bullet  and  no  harm 
is  done,"  he  replied.  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  would 
have  given  his  rank  itself  for  the  mere  soldier's  privi- 


Yorktown  155 

lege  of  leading  the  advance  of  either  of  these  storming 
parties,  for  that  was  the  kind  of  soldier  Washington 
was.  He  was,  above  all  things,  a  fighter  from  be- 
ginning to  end.  Presently  his  practised  eye  saw  that 
both  assaults  had  been  delivered  successfully  and  the 
works  were  in  possession  of  his  troops.  "The  work 
is  done  and  well  done!"  he  remarked  triumphantly, 
turning  away. 

The  cannonade  was  now  resumed  from  the  new  par- 
allel with  renewed  vigor.  Governor  Nelson,  who  had 
lived  in  Yorktown,  on  being  asked  what  were  the  best 
points  at  which  to  direct  a  fire,  pointed  out  his  own 
house  which,  as  it  was  the  largest  in  the  place,  was' most 
likely  to  be  the  headquarters  of  Cornwallis,  which  was 
afterward  ascertained  to  be  a  fact.  One  pleasing  lit- 
tle incident  which  places  Cornwallis  in  an  agreeable 
light  is  this.  Governor  Nelson  had  a  brother  living  in 
Yorktown.  a  very  old  man,  who  had  been  secretary  of 
the  colony  under  the  crown  for  over  thirty  years  and 
was  habitually  called  "Mr.  Secretary  Nelson."  The 
secretary  had  two  sons  who  served  in  Washington's 
army  and  they  besought  him,  if  possible,  to  secure  the 
enlargement  of  their  father.  Washington  wrote  a  per- 
sonal letter  to  Cornwallis  requesting  that  "Mr.  Secre- 
tary Nelson"  be  allowed  to  leave  the  city.  The  gener- 
ous Englishman  granted  permission  at  once,  and  the 
boys  had  the  satisfaction  of  not  being  compelled  to  fire 
upon  the  abiding  place  of  their  father. 

The  night  after  the  capture  of  the  redoubts,  Corn- 
wallis, whose  men  were  being  cut  up  by  the  heavy 
bombardment,  whose  headquarters  were  made  untena- 
ble from  the  same  cause,  whose  provisions  were  giving 
out,  and  whose  ammunition  was  almost  exhausted, 
determined  upon  a  sortie.  A  heavy  column  under 


156     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Abercrombie  made  a  gallant  attack 
upon  the  American  works.  It  was  partially  successful, 
though  they  had  not  time  more  than  hastily  to  spike  one 
or  two  of  the  guns,  when  they  were  dislodged  by  the  re- 
turn attack  of  the  Americans  and  forced  to  retreat  with 
considerable  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners. 
The  spikes  were  easily  drawn  from  the  guns  and  they 
recommenced  their  useful  service. 

The  situation  of  the  earl  was  now  desperate;  al- 
though he  received  word  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was 
about  to  sail  with  seven  thousand  men  and  a  large  fleet 
of  twenty-five  ships-of-the-line,  and  two  fifty-gun  frig- 
ates, he  could  hold  out  no  longer.  Word  was  brought 
to  De  Grasse  of  this  at  the  same  time  and  he  immediate- 
ly determined  to  abandon  the  siege  and  get  to  sea,  in 
order  to  be  prepared  to  run  away  or  fight  as  circum- 
'stances  would  permit.  It  was  only  by  the  strongest 
pleas  and  representations  from  Washington,  Rocham- 
beau  and  Lafayette  that  he  was  induced  to  reconsider 
his  purpose  and  remain  for  a  few  days  longer;  so  his 
ships  moved  down  to  Lynn  Haven  Bay  and  were  kept 
in  readiness  for  constant  action.  Yorktown  had  been 
almost  destroyed  by  the  cannonading,  many  of  the 
British  ships  and  boats  in  the  harbor  were  set  on  fire 
and  burned,  including  the  Charon,  a  forty-four-gun 
frigate. 

Cornwallis,  in  his  desperation,  determined  to  pass 
over  to  Gloucester  point,  opposite  Yorktown,  across  the 
river,  where  he  had  a  fortified  post,  assemble  his  forces 
there  and  break  through  the  small  American  force 
opposing  and  get  away.  It  was  a  foolhardy  plan  at 
best,  but  any  hope  he  might  have  entertained  of  carry- 
ing it  out  was  frustrated  after  he  had  succeeded  in  get- 
ting one  brigade  across,  by  a  violent  storm  which  arose 


Yorktown  157 

during  the  night,  wrecking  and  scattering  his  boats  so 
that  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  he  managed  to 
get  that  brigade  back  to  his  army  in  the  morning.  On 
the  seventeenth  of  October  he  determined  to  surrender. 
There  was  nothing  left  for  him  to  do  with  his  defeated 
and  exhausted  troops;  he  could  not  escape  by  with- 
drawing in  the  face  of  the  French  fleet  and  he  could 
not  sustain  the  siege  longer.  So,  as  I  have  said,  on  that 
bright,  sunny  morning,  the  drums  began  beating  a  par- 
ley. And  this  was  the  end  of  all  the  hard  marching, 
the  mad  chasing,  the  desperate  fighting,  in  which  he 
had  indulged  since  he  landed  at  Charleston  two  years 
before.  Nay,  more,  this  was  the  end  of  a  greater 
thing  than  Cornwallis  and  his  army ;  though  they  knew 
it  not,  it  was  the  end  of  the  British  empire  in  America 
with  all  its  "stamp  acts,"  and  non-representations  and 
oppressions ;  its  scorn  and  contempt  of  things  colonial. 
"It  is  over,  it  is  over,"  seemed  the  message  of  the 
drums  on  that  October  morning. 

The  rest  was  soon  arranged.  In  order  to  protect 
his  loyalists  from  the  rancor  of  their  countrymen, 
Cornwallis  was  allowed  to  send  a  ship  back  to  New 
York  in  which  they  escaped.  The  terms  insisted  upon 
were  the  same  which  had  been  forced  upon  the  Ameri- 
cans when  the  British  had  captured  Charleston — the 
officers  retaining  their  side-arms  and  everybody  his 
private  property.  As  the  Americans  had  been  com- 
pelled to  play  an  American  march  when  they  sur- 
rendered, it  was  insisted  that  the  British  should  do  the 
same  by  playing  a  British  air  in  this  instance.  At  noon 
then,  on  October  19,  1781,  the  allied  armies  were 
drawn  up  in  two  lines,  the  Americans  on  the  right, 
and  the  French  on  the  left.  The  British  marched  out 
between  them,  sullen,  dejected,  bitterly  indignant,  their 


158     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

bands  playing,  significantly  enough,  a  quaint  old 
English  tune  called,  "The  World  Turned  Upside 
Down !"  The  red  standard  of  England  was  lowered  be- 
fore the  banners  of  her  oldest  antagonist  and  her 
newest  enemy.  The  white  liags  of  France  with  their 
golden  lilies,  which  had  gone  down  in  the  dust  at  Crecy, 
at  Agincourt  and  at  Poictiers,  now  beheld  the  banners 
of  their  ancient  foe  drooping  in  submission  before  them 
and  before  the  Stars  and  Stripes;  the  flag  that  Paul 
Jones'  hand  had  hoisted  at  the  masthead  of  his  ship; 
the  flag  which  had  fluttered  above  the  bastion  at  Fort 
Stanwix;  which  Cornwallis  himself  had  seen  at  Mon- 
mouth  and  at  Guilford  Court  House — the  flag  of  the 
child  who  had  broken  away  from  the  cruel  mother. 
General  O'Hara,  who  led  the  British  troops  in  the  in- 
disposition of  Cornwallis,  surrendered  his  sword  to 
General  Lincoln,  who  had  capitulated  at  Charleston. 
The  British  soldiers  grounded  arms  and  marched  back, 
and  that  was  the  end. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  Washington  and  for  that 
Revolution  which  had  been  conceived  when  the  min- 
ute men  of  Lexington  and  of  Concord  rallied  to  the 
midnight  summons  of  Paul  Revere,  riding  hotly 
through  the  night;  that  Revolution  which  had  quickened 
on  the  blood-stained  slopes  of  Bunker  Hill,  which  had 
travailed  at  Trenton  and  Princeton  and  had  been  born 
on  the  plains  of  Saratoga,  which  had  starved  and  frozen 
at  Valley  Forge.  It  was  now  an  accomplished  fact.  The 
fighting  was  over.  The  dullest  could  see  that  a  new 
nation  had  arisen — a  country  that  could  not  be 
conquered — that  freedom  had  been  achieved.  The 
great  patient  man  who  sat  his  horse  and  watched  the 
sullen  soldiers  pass  before  him,  must  have  felt  this 
with  a  thankful,  grateful  heart ;  for  with  the  deep  piety 


Yorktown  159 

which  was  part  of  his  nature,  the  first  general  order 
after  the  surrender  .was  accomplished  bade  the  troops 
to  a  service  of  thanksgiving  and  prayer! 

It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  the  news  of 
the  surrender  reached  the  quiet  city  of  Philadelphia. 
"Past  three  o'clock,"  cried  the  watchman  in  the  still 
night,  "and  Cornwallis  is  taken!"  There  was  no  more 
sleep  in  the  staid  old  town  that  night.  "Past  three 
o'clock  and  Cornwallis  is  taken!"  The  citizens  rushed 
from  their  houses  glad-hearted  in  the  dawning  of  a 
new  day. 

It  was  later  still  when  the  news  reached  England. 
Lord  George  Germaine  was  awakened  early  in  the 
morning  by  the  arrival  of  a  courier  who  had  brought 
the  despatches  telling  the  disastrous  story.  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  with  his  great  "armada"  had  arrived  too  late. 
The  surrender  was  accomplished  when  he  got  there; 
De  Grasse  had  gone  to  the  West  Indies,  and  like  the 
King  of  France  who  marched  up  the  hill  and  then 
marched  down  again,  Sir  Henry  had  returned  to  New 
York.  Lord  George  jumped  into  a  carriage  and,  pick- 
ing up  the  chancellor  by  the  way,  drove  to  the  house  of 
the  prime  minister  with  his  dreadful  news.  "How 
did  he  take  it?"  he  was  asked  by  a  friend.  "Like  a 
bullet  in  the  breast,"  was  the  reply.  "He  threw  up  his 
hands  in  great  agony  crying,  'O  God,  it  is  all  over,  it 
is  all  over!'  "  and  the  words  were  even  so.  The  king 
blustered  awhile,  and  vowed  that  he  would  do  this,  or 
that,  or  the  other,  but  in  the  end  peace  was  declared, 
independence  was  acknowledged  and  the  United  States 
of  America  began  to  be. 


AMERICAN  FIGHTS  AND  FIGHTERS 
PART    II 

THE  INDIAN  WAR  IN  THE 
NORTHWEST 

1791-1794 


ST.  CLAIR'S  DEFEAT 


LATE  in  the  evening  of  December  19,  1791,  a  tired 
officer  in  a  weather-stained  uniform,  on  a  played 
out  horse,  rode  up  to  the  door  of  the  house  of  Presi- 
dent Washington,  in  Philadelphia,  and  demanded 
admittance  on  the  plea  of  carrying  urgent  des- 
patches for  the  President.  Upon  the  refusal  of  the 
officer  to  deliver  them  to  Mr.  Lear,  his  private  secre- 
tary, Washington  was  sent  for.  He  excused  himself 
to  his  dinner  guests  and  came  into  the  hall  and  read 
the  despatches.  After  dismissing  the  officer,  he  re- 
sumed his  seat  at  the  table  without  disclosing  the  pur- 
port of  the  communication  he  had  received,  although 
one  of  the  company  states  that  he  heard  him  mutter 
under  his  breath,  "I  knew  it  would  be  so."  Washing- 
ton, with  his  usual  calm  serenity,  appeared  in  the  draw- 
ing-room, where  his  wife  was  holding  a  reception  after 
supper,  and  it  was  not  until  after  ten  o'clock  that  he 
was  left  alone  with  his  secretary.  Then  his  iron  self- 
control  was  broken,  and  he  gave  way  to  the  agitation 
which  the  despatch  had  induced. 

After  pacing  up  and  down  the  room  a  few  minutes, 
he  sat  down  and  motioning  Mr.  Lear  to  a  seat,  he  ex- 

163 


164     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

claimed  passionately,  ''It's  all  over ! — St.  Clair's  defeat- 
ed ! — routed ;  the  officers  nearly  all  killed,  the  men  by 
the  wholesale ;  the  rout  complete ;  too  shocking  to  think 
of,  and  a  surprise  in  the  bargain!"  His  secretary 
watched  him  in  dead  silence,  appalled,  perhaps  as 
much  by  the  furious  passion  of  the  general  as  by  the 
news  of  the  overwhelming  disaster.  Washington  pres- 
ently sprang  to  his  feet  and  walked  up  and  down  the 
room  again  in  great  agitation,  endeavoring  to  control 
himself  anew.  He  finally  stopped  near  the  door  and 
broke  out  again.  "Yes,"  he  exclaimed,  "here,  on  this 
very  spot,  I  took  leave  of  him;  I  wished  him  success 
and  honor.  'You  have  had  your  instructions  from 
the  Secretary  of  War,'  said  I,  'I  had  a  strict  eye  to 
them,  and  will  add  but  one  word,  BEWARE  OF  A 
SURPRISE.  You  know  how  the  Indians  fight  us. 
I  repeat  it,  BEWARE  OF  A  SURPRISE.'  He 
went  off  with  that,  my  last  warning,  thrown  in  his  ears. 
And  yet!  To  suffer  that  army  to  be  cut  to  pieces, 
hacked,  butchered,  tomahawked,  by  a  surprise — the 
very  thing  I  guarded  him  against.  O  God  !  O  God !" 
he  exclaimed  throwing  up  his  hands,  while  his  very 
frame  shook  with  emotion,  "He's  worse  than  a  mur- 
derer! How  can  he  answer  it  to  his  country! 
The  blood  of  the  slain  is  upon  him — the  curse  of  the 
widows  and  orphans — the  curse  of  heaven !" 

After  this  outbreak,  to  which  Mr.  Lear  dared  ven- 
ture no  reply,  Washington  struggled  with  himself  until 
his  strong  will  once  more  regained  its  habitual  mastery 
over  his  feelings.  After  some  minutes,  as  if  ashamed 
of  and  regretting  his  passion,  he  broke  the  silence 
again  by  saying  in  a  subdued  and  altered  tone,  "This 
must  not  go  beyond  this  room."  After  another  and  a 
longer  pause,  he  added,  in  a  tone  quite  low  and  distinct 


St.  Glair's  Defeat  165 

and  with  great  deliberation,  "General  St.  Clair  shall 
have  justice;  I  looked  hastily  over  the  despatches, 
saw  the  whole  disaster,  but  not  all  the  particulars.  I 
will  receive  him  without  displeasure;  I  will  hear  him 
without  prejudice;  he  shall  have  full  justice." 

The  cause  of  this  extraordinary  fit  of  passion,  the 
like  of  which  only  occurred  a  few  times  in  the  life  of 
the  great  Washington,  was  one  of  the  most  frightful 
disasters  that  ever  befell  the  American  arms.  There 
had  been  trouble  with  the  Indians  for  years  in  the 
Northwest,  in  what  is  now  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana and  Illinois.  The  British  at  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lution had  not  yielded  their  control  of  the  lake  posses- 
sions in  their  desire  to  preserve  their  monopoly  of  the 
lucrative  fur  trade,  and  they  cannot  be  held  guiltless 
of  inciting  and  encouraging  the  border  warfare  on  the 
part  of  the  Indian  and  the  frontiersmen,  which  was  in 
any  event  a  natural  and  legitimate  outcome  of  the  situ- 
ation. The  great  west  bound  tide  of  men  which,  since 
the  Garden  of  Eden,  has  ever  flooded  on  in  the  path  of 
the  sun,  had  swept  across  the  Alleghanies  in  rolling 
waves;  and  it  speedily  became  necessary  to  secure  an 
outlet  for  the  ever  increasing,  onrushing  deluge  of 
humanity  in  the  great  waste  of  untilled  fields,  dense 
forests,  and  fertile  valleys  of  the  West. 

The  Indian,  who  had  roamed  the  country  freely, 
looked  upon  the  advance  guard  of  civilization  with 
jealousy  and  suspicion,  and  wherever  the  wave  of  prog- 
ress came  in  contact  with  the  men  of  the  Stone  Age,  it 
broke  into  the  wild  spray  of  irrepressible  conflict.  The 
Government  of  the  United  States  did  not  appreciate 
the  situation,  and  desired  nothing  but  peace  on  its  fron- 
tiers, never  dreaming  of  the  immense  power  latent  in 
the  straining  nation,  striving  to  break  the  tightening 


1 66     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

circles  in  which  the  rapid  increase  of  population  con- 
stricted the  people.  It  was  the  old  story  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  going  up  to  possess  the  earth.  The  Stone  Age 
had  enjoyed  its  period,  it  was  old  and  left  behind  in  the 
race ;  a  new  day  was  dawning,  a  new  people  desired  the 
place,  and  were  not  to  be  denied.  The  weakest  must  go 
to  the  wall  again.  But  every  foot  of  the  advance  was 
to  be  marked  with  blood  and  met  with  desperate  resist- 
ance. Of  such  alway  is  the  path  of  civilization. 

The  history  of  the  eight  years  following  the  Revolu- 
tion is  one  of  merciless  outrage  and  bloody  reprisal, 
of  ruthless,  cruel  and  terrible  warfare  in  which  cupidity 
and  guile  played  leading  parts.  From  a  moral  stand- 
point the  American  was  the  more  blamable  for  he 
knew  more;  from  a  physical  standpoint,  the  savage, 
for  he  knew  less,  and  his  methods  of  warfare  were  in 
accordance  with  his  lack  of  knowledge.  It  was  his 
land,  too,  but  on  the  other  hand  he  could  not  use  it. 
The  question  of  right  is  a  deep  one,  here  we  are  only 
concerned  with  the  facts.  The  innocent  and  guilty  suf- 
fered alike  on  both  sides  from  the  play  of  passion,  and 
outrage  after  outrage  occurred  on  the  part  of  the 
thoroughly  aroused  savages,  until  the  Government 
was  at  last  compelled  to  take  notice.  Expeditions 
under  Harmer  and  others  had  been  rather  severely 
handled,  and  public  opinion  had  been  so  aroused  by  sev- 
eral unusually  atrocious  depredations,  that  an  army 
for  the  chastisement  of  the  savages  was  authorized  by 
Congress,  and  Major-General  Arthur  St.  Clair  was 
placed  in  command. 

His  force,  which  had  assembled  at  Fort  Washington 
on  the  Ohio,  now  Cincinnati,  comprised  two  small 
regiments  of  regulars,  newly  organized,  two  regi- 
ments of  six  month  levies,  and  a  large  body  of 


St.  Glair's  Defeat  167 

militia,  to  which  were  added  two  small  batteries  of 
light  guns  and  several  squadrons  of  inferior  cavalry. 
Headquarters  were  eventually  established  at  Fort 
Hamilton,  twenty-five  miles  north  of  Fort  Washing- 
ton, where  months  of  inactive  waiting  for  the  arrival 
of  nearly  every  sort  of  necessity  for  campaigning 
passed  away.  The  pay  allowed  by  the  Government 
was  so  miserable  that  the  better  class  of  men  absolutely 
refused  to  enlist.  The  bulk  of  the  army  came  from 
the  purlieus  of  the  seaboard  cities,  "the  prison,  the 
wheelbarrow  and  the  brothel,"  for  two  dollars  per 
month  a  head !  The  six  month  levies  were  no  better, 
and  the  militia,  much  worse. 

The  officers  were  mainly  men  of  spirit  and  courage 
but  of  limited  military  experience.  The  experienced 
frontiersmen  like  Brady  looked  askance  and  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  such  an  army  for  such  an  ex- 
pedition, and  the  whole  assemblage  was  as  ignorant  of 
Indian  warfare  as  if  they  had  been  babies  in  arms. 
Braddock's  famous  army,  though  made  up  of  much 
better  men,  was  not  more  confident  nor  more  stupid. 
The  second  in  command  was  General  Richard  Butler, 
who  was  an  old  Revolutionary  soldier,  as  was  the 
Adjutant-General,  Colonel  Winthrop  Sargent,  who 
was  the  only  really  capable  man  among  the  leaders  of 
the  party.  St.  Clair  was  nearly  sixty  years  old.  He 
had  served  with  credit  in  the  Revolution  and  was  a 
man  of  undoubted  honor,  probity  and  courage,  but  he 
was  seriously  ill  with  the  gout  and  other  ailments,  and 
was  frequently  unable  to  ride  a  horse  and  had  to  be 
carried  on  a  litter.  Butler  was  in  much  the  same  con- 
dition. 

The  arms,  equipments  and  other  supplies  were  as 
bad  as  possible.  Much  of  the  powder  was  spoiled  or 


1 68     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

was  of  inferior  quality.  There  was  no  food  for  the 
men,  no  fodder  for  the  horses,  which  were  broken 
down  old  hacks.  The  commissary  and  quartermaster 
departments  were  woefully  inefficient.  It  was  the  old 
story  so  often  repeated  of  an  absolute  unpreparedness 
for  action,  and  the  Republic  never  seems  to  learn  the 
lesson  of  it.  The  two  regular  regiments  had  been  as- 
siduously drilled  during  the  long  days  of  weary  wait- 
ing, and  in  ordinary  warfare  might  have  proved  fairly 
efficient,  but  nothing  on  earth  could  ever  make  woods- 
men of  them  or  fit  them  for  their  present  purpose.  The 
six  month  levies  and  the  militia,  if  anything,  deterior- 
ated rather  than  improved  during  the  delay.  It  is  only 
justice  to  St.  Clair  to  state  that  he  protested  vigorously 
against  this  state  of  affairs,  but  without  result.  Still 
he  never  seems  to  have  entertained  a  doubt  of  ultimate 
success,  even  considering  the  wretched  quality  of  the 
army. 

On  October  4,  1791,  the  miserable  army  began  its 
forward  movement.  Its  rate  of  progress  was  about 
six  miles  a  day !  For  nine  days  it  cut  its  way  through 
damp,  dense  woods,  or  dragged  itself  wearily  over  the 
sodden  prairies,  wet  with  the  heavy  autumnal  rains. 
Then  it  stopped  and  built  a  fort  which  was  called  Fort 
Jefferson,  where  the  large  numbers  of  sick  and  some 
scanty  supplies  were  left.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of 
October  the  march  was  resumed.  The  straggling  was 
awful,  desertions  frequent,  and  although  St.  Clair,  in 
the  endeavor  to  preserve  discipline,  hung  three  of  the 
deserters  summarily,  the  measure  did  not  seem  effec- 
tive. On  the  thirty-first  of  October  they  had  made 
about  twenty  miles,  without  seeing  any  great  force  of 
Indians,  though  there  was  some  little  skirmishing  from 
time  to  time,  and  the  advance  was  greatly  galled  and 


St.  Glair's  Defeat  169 

disheartened  by  stray  warriors  who  took  pot  shots  at 
the  hapless  Americans  from  the  underbrush,  and  disap- 
peared before  they  could  be  apprehended  or  even  seen. 
There  were  no  organized  parties  of  flankers  or  scouts, 
and  what  few  men  were  detailed  for  that  vital  duty 
were  left  mainly  to  their  own  devices.  On  the  night  of 
the  same  day  sixty  of  the  militia  deserted  in  a  body, 
after  proclaiming  their  intention  to  live  off  the  supply 
trains,  which  were  lagging  unaccountably  in  the  rear. 
To  capture  and  to  -bring  them  back  and  to  protect  this 
supply  train  as  well  St.  Clair  very  foolishly  detached 
one  of  his  two  regular  regiments,  the  second,  under 
Major  Hamtranck,  on  the  first  of  November.  This 
most  seriously  weakened  his  army. 

On  the  third  of  November  the  army  camped  in  the 
evening  on  the  east  fork  of  the  Wabash,  at  this  point 
a  little  stream  scarcely  twenty  yards  wide  and  fordable 
anywhere.  It  was  St.  Glair's  design,  as  he  was  near 
the  principal  Miami  villages,  to  throw  up  another  for- 
tification, leave  the  sick  and  all  except  absolutely 
necessary  baggage  in  it,  and  push  on  to  destroy  the 
towns,  and  then,  after  leaving  strong  garrisons  in  the 
various  forts,  return  to  the  Ohio  for  the  winter.  He 
did  not  have  a  chance  to  put  his  plan  in  operation.  The 
army,  now  reduced  to  about  fourteen  hundred  men,  in- 
cluding camp  followers  and  about  thirty  wretched 
women,  was  camped  in  a  clearing  on  a  narrow  rise  of 
ground  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long.  The 
place  was  surrounded  by  dense  virgin  woods,  through 
which  they  had  been  compelled  to  cut  a  narrow  road. 
The  main  body,  consisting  of  the  regulars  and  the  lev- 
ies, was  drawn  up  in  two  lines  facing  out,  with  the  bat- 
teries in  the  center  and  the  cavalry  on  either  flank, 
making  a  sort  of  elongated  hollow  square.  On  the 


170    American  Fights  and  Fighters 

other  side  of  the  creek  the  militia  and  a  small  scouting 
party  were  thrown  forward. 

The  officer  in  charge  of  the  scouts  came  back  to 
headquarters  in  the  night'  and  told  St.  Clair  that  he  had 
discovered  signs  of  large  bodies  of  Indians.  He  was 
thanked  for  his  information  and  told  to  return  to  his 
post,  the  matter  would  be  looked  into  in  the  morning; 
the  tired  soldiers  were  plunged  in  slumber  and  could 
not  be  disturbed  for  rumors  of  this  kind — for  most 
of  them  there  was  to  be  a  dreadful  awakening  in  that 
coming  day.  The  men  were  paraded  as  usual  at  sun- 
rise, and  had  just  been  dismissed  to  prepare  their  break- 
fast, when  rifle  shots  rang  out  in  the  cold,  raw  morn- 
ing. It  was  the  thing  they  had  been  warned  against, 
a  surprise!  There  was  a  slight  snow  on  the  ground, 
which  was  very  wet  and  muddy,  and  the  little  pools 
were  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  ice,  which  soon 
melted  away  as  the  day  advanced.  The  firing  in  the 
front  at  once  became  general.  After  the  briefest  pos- 
sible stand  and  a  volley  or  two,  the  advance  party  of 
the  militia  were  routed  by  the  charging  Indians,  and 
came  running  back  pell-mell  across  the  stream  and 
plunged  into  the  regiments  in  camp,  which  were  hastily 
reassembling  to  the  long  roll  of  the  drums,  causing 
much  disorder  and  confusion. 

Such  was  the  impetuosity  of  the  Indians'  pursuit, 
as  they  rushed  forward  through  the  creek,  and  so  close 
were  they  on  the  heels  of  the  craven  militia  that  they 
almost  broke  through  the  startled  lines  of  the  camp, 
and  a  stampede  was  with  difficulty  averted  by  the  offi- 
cers. One  or  two  hasty  volleys  from  the  first  line  of 
the  regulars,  however,  drove  the  savages  out  of  the 
open  to  seek  shelter  in  the  thick  and  almost  impenetra- 
ble woods.  At  the  same  moment  the  army  found  itself 


St.  Clair's  Defeat  171 

surrounded  and  assailed  from  every  side.  Every  tree 
trunk,  every  fallen  log,  every  clump  of  bushes  hid  a 
crouching  foe,  and  the  bullets  fairly  rained  in  among 
the  exposed  men  in  the  clearing,  who  sent  volley  after 
volley  in  every  direction  without  doing  any  perceptible 
damage.  The  artillery  was  unlimbered  and  the  guns 
were  served  with  furious  energy ;  so  that  the  army  was 
soon  covered  with  clouds  of  its  own  smoke  through 
which  the  men  fired  aimlessly  in  the  greatest  bewil- 
derment. 

The  officers  strove  with  the  greatest  courage  to  re- 
form the  lines  which  had  been  broken  and  disorganized 
by  the  fleeing  militia.  St.  Clair  in  person  took  com- 
mand of  one  line,  Butler  the  other.  One  likes  to  think 
of  the  old  general  walking  calmly  up  and  down  the 
line,  his  gray  hairs  floating  in  the  wind,  striving  to  en- 
courage the  men;  it  somewhat  redeems  the  man  after 
all,  so  splendid  a  virtue  is  courage.  For  a  time  they 
stood  their  ground  manfully  under  a  hail  of  bullets 
from  their  concealed  foe — pushed  to  the  wall,  even 
the  most  craven  and  ignoble  will  fight  in  the  last  ex- 
tremity. But  the  situation  was  more  than  they  could 
stand;  the  poor  frightened  outcast  from  the  towns 
firing  blindly  into  the  smoke  suddenly  would  be  ap- 
palled by  the  sight  of  a  feather-crowned  head,  a  pair 
of  burning  eyes  gleaming  fiercely  upon  him  from  out  a 
painted  face;  and  before  his  terror-dried  throat  could 
frame  a  shriek,  with  a  wild  cry  screamed  in  his  ears, 
the  tomahawk  would  be  buried  in  his  brain,  the  scalp- 
ing knife  circling  his  head.  The  groaning  wounded 
were  given  sudden  relief  from  their  agonies  by  the 
thrust  of  a  gleaming  knife  in  the  hand  of  some  crawl- 
ing, stealthy  prowler  who  had  made  his  way  unnoticed 
into  the  camp  in  the  awful  confusion. 


172     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

But  the  Indians  had  grown  bolder  from  their  own 
immunity,  and  noting  the  numbers  of  those  who  fell, 
from  time  to  time  they  advanced  from  the  underbrush 
and  under  cover  of  the  smoke  rushed  recklessly  upon 
the  Americans,  a  thing  most  unusual  for  them.  When- 
ever they  could  be  seen  in  force,  they  were  met  with 
the  most  determined  courage  and  repelled  time  and 
again  by  furious  bayonet  charges.  Again  and  again 
the  officers  led  their  men  forward.  The  Indians,  how- 
ever, would  never  remain  to  face  the  advancing  detach- 
ments, but  would  melt  away  on  every  side  and  when 
the  charging  party  had  gone  a  little  way  from  the  camp 
it  would  be  necessary  to  execute  a  return  charge  to 
get  back  through  the  interposing  bodies  of  the  foe, 
and  in  these  little  retreats  more  would  be  lost  than  had 
been  gained  in  the  charge.  Particular  attention  was 
paid  by  the  Indians  to  the  artillery.  Every  officer 
and  most  of  the  men  connected  with  it  were  soon 
killed  or  wounded.  Every  officer  in  the  only  regular 
regiment  remaining  met  a  like  fate. 

Several  times  the  Indians  succeeded,  under  cover  of 
the  smoke,  in  breaking  through  the  lines  in  force,  kill- 
ing and  scalping  the  wounded  wherever  they  were, 
and  were  only  prevented  by  heroic  efforts  from  captur- 
ing the  camp.  General  Butler,  who  was  shot  in  the 
arm  in  the  early  part  of  the  action,  walked  up  and 
down  cheering  on  his  men  until  another  bullet  brought 
him  down.  As  he  lay  on  the  ground  he  was  toma- 
hawked by  one  of  the  Indian  attacking  parties.  St. 
Clair  had  eight  bullets  through  his  clothing,  a  shot 
grazed  his  head,  cutting  off  a  lock  of  his  hair,  but  he 
was  otherwise  unharmed.  In  spite  of  his  age  and  his 
infirmities  he  several  times  personally  led  charges, 
sword  in  hand,  upon  the  Indians,  but  his  experienced 


St.  Clair's  Defeat  173 

eye  saw  that  the  battle  was  going  seriously  against  him; 
the  spirit  of  his  men  was  giving  out,  their  resistance 
was  becoming  feebler,  ammunition  was  getting  low, 
most  of  the  officers  were  gone — the  game  was  up.  The 
numbers  of  the  slain  and  the  wounded  were  increasing 
at  a  fearful  rate,  the  ground  was  covered  with  bodies, 
the  Indians  were  coming  in  closer  and  closer  and 
the  violence  of  their  fire  did  not  slacken  in  the  least 
degree.  Something  would  have  to  be  done  and 
promptly,  else  they  would  all  be  massacred  where  they 
stood. 

Under  the  orders  of  St.  Clair,  Colonel  Darke,  the 
commander  of  the  second  regiment,  although  badly 
wounded,  assembled  what  men  he  could  and  led  a  charge 
upon  the  encircling  line  of  the  Indians  as  if  to  get  in 
their  rear;  while  St.  Clair,  with  some  of  the  bolder 
soldiers,  taking  advantage  of  the  diversion  thus  caused, 
broke  through  in  another  direction  and  circling  round 
upon  the  rear,  succeeded  in  opening  a  way  of  escape  by 
gaining  possession  of  the  road  which  they  had  made 
through  the  trees  in  prosecuting  their  advance.  With 
the  desperate  courage  of  despair  the  little  band  held 
the  way  open  while  the  terror-stricken  men  tore 
through  the  pathway  thus  made  without  a  moment's 
hesitation.  They  lost  all  semblance  of  organization 
and  discipline  and  the  retreat  at  once  became  a  fright- 
ful rout.  The  hapless  wounded  were  left  behind  or 
thrust  aside;  arms  and  equipments  and  everything 
which  would  impede  flight  were  cast  away,  and  in  one 
long,  maddened  mob  they  ran  frantically  down  the 
open  road  in  wild  panic. 

Darke  and  a  few  remaining  officers  and  men  la- 
bored heroically  with  a  skeleton  rear-guard  to  prevent 
pursuit;  St.  Clair,  mounted  on  a  wounded  pack  horse, 


174     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

endeavored  to  get  to  the  front  to  stop  the  rout  and 
restore  some  kind  of  order,  but  the  wretched  animal 
could  not  be  pricked  out  of  a  walk.  Meanwhile  the 
ruthless  Indians,  like  silent  shadows,  flitted  through 
the  heavy  woods  on  either  side  of  the  road  and  picked 
off  the  frightened,  helpless,  unresisting  men  at  their 
pleasure.  But  their  desire  for  the  booty  of  the  camp 
and  their  utter  lack  of  military  organization  caused 
them  to  withdraw  from  the  pursuit  about  four  miles 
from  the  camp,  and  the  fugitives  were  left  to  pursue 
their  mad  flight  unhindered.  The  temporary  with- 
drawal of  their  savage  pursuers  made  no  difference  to 
them,  they  ran  on  through  the  long  day  until  they 
dropped  from  exhaustion;  many  of  them,  especially 
those  who  were  wounded,  crawled  into  the  woods  and 
were  lost  in  its  fastnesses,  where  they  perished  misera- 
bly from  fevers,  starvation,  or  under  the  tomahawks 
of  the  triumphant  war  parties  which  scoured  the  coun- 
try for  days  after  the  battle.  The  wounded  remaining 
in  the  camp  were  butchered  and  tortured  in  the  most 
ferocious  manner,  until  death  gave  them  welcome  re- 
lief. The  unfortunate  women  of  the  camp,  who  were 
all  captured,  were  staked  out  upon  the  ground  and 
their  fate  can  hardly  be  imagined ;  they  were  all  finally 
put  to  death,  a  welcome  relief.  Some  of  the  ruder 
tribes  indulged  in  a  wild  cannibalistic  orgie ! 

It  was  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  the  army 
reached  Fort  Jefferson,  having  met  on  the  way  Ham- 
tranck's  regiment  which  with  pusillanimous  hesitation 
had  failed  to  advance  to  cover  the  retreat,  and  could 
not  now  be  driven  forward.  It  had  taken  the  army 
seven  days  to  advance  twenty-nine  miles — the  distance 
in  retreat  was  covered  in  as  many  hours. 

The  number  of  the  killed  was  six  hundred  and  thirty, 


St.. Glair's  Defeat  175 

seriously  wounded,  two  hundred  and  eighty.  Only 
about  five  hundred  escaped,  most  of  whom  were  slight- 
ly wounded  or  in  some  way  bore  marks  of  the  awful 
disaster.  The  Indian  loss  was  rather  less  than  a  hun- 
dred and  the  total  number  of  Indians  engaged  was 
probably  not  as  much  as  a  thousand.  The  Indian 
leader  was,  according  to  some  accounts,  Little  Turtle, 
the  noted  war  chief  of  the  Miamis ;  according  to  others, 
Thayendanegea,  otherwise  known  as  Joseph  Brant, 
the  chief  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  illegitimate  son,  ac- 
cording to  some  records,  of  the  famous  Sir  William 
Johnson,  and  the  inveterate  foe  of  the  Americans. 
He  is  remembered  for  his  participation  in  the  Wyo- 
ming and  the  Minnisink  massacres;  and  he  was, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  Pontiac,  and  it  may 
be,  Tecumseh,  the  ablest  Indian  who  ever  lived.  The 
Indians  who  fought  were  Algonquins  and  belonged 
to  the  Wyandottes,  Shawnees,  Ottawas,  Miamis,  and 
Delawares.  Brant  was  an  Iroquois  and,  as  the  head 
chief  of  their  great  confederacy,  was  probably  attend- 
ed by  a  small  body  of  these  ruthless  and  famous  war- 
riors. The  Delawares  had  been  hitherto  designated  by 
the  haughty  Iroquois  as  women;  in  this  action  they 
wiped  out  the  stigma  and  proved  themselves  men. 

Resting  for  a  day  or  two  at  Fort  Jefferson,  the  de- 
feated Americans  retreated  to  Fort  Washington,  and 
the  wretched  St.  Clair  despatched  a  staff  officer  with 
the  news  of  the  disaster  to  the  President.  How  that 
news  was  received  we  have  seen.  The  unfortunate 
St.  Clair  resigned  his  commission  soon  after,  and 
Washington  appointed  Mad  Anthony  Wayne  to  suc- 
ceed him.  Wayne  was  a  soldier  of  a  different  stamp 
and  after  some  vigorous  campaigning,  culminating  in 
the  Battle  of  the  Falling  Timbers,  August  20,  1794,  he 


lj6     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

completely  broke  the  savage  power,  and  there  was 
peace  in  the  Northwest  thereafter.  General  St.  Clair 
was  explicitly  exculpated  from  blame  by  a  committee 
of  Congress  after  a  rigid  examination,  partly,  it  is  sup- 
posed, on  account  of  his  long  and  honorable  career,  and 
the  great  personal  sacrifices  he  had  made  during  the 
Revolution.  Although  severely  reprehended  by  the 
general  public,  he  continued  to  enjoy  the  confidence 
and  friendship  of  his  old  commander.  Such  was  the 
"justice"  of  Washington  toward  his  old  comrade-in 
arms! 


AMERICAN  FIGHTS  AND  FIGHTERS 
PART  III 

THE  WAR  WITH  FRANCE 

1798-1800 


TRUXTUN  AND  THE  CONSTELLATION 

"  To  know  we're  resolved,  let  them  think  on  the  hour, 
When  Truxtun,  brave  Truxtun  off  Nevis's  shore, 
His  ship  manned  for  battle,  the  standard  unfurled, 
And  at  the  Insurgente  defiance  he  hurled. 

"Then  raise  high  the  strain,  pay  the  tribute  that's  due 
To  the  fair  Constellation,  and  all  her  brave  Crew ; 
Be  Truxtun  revered,  and  his  name  be  enrolled, 
'Mongst  the  chiefs  of  the  ocean,  the  heroes  of  old." 

Old  Song. 


TRUXTUN  AND  THE  CON- 
STELLATION 


THIS  is  a  story  of  a  forgotten  ship  and  a  forgotten 
captain  in  a  forgotten  war.  The  names  of  Paul  Jones, 
Hull,  Decatur,  Bainbridge,  Stewart,  Perry;  the  ships 
or  squadrons  they  commanded,  and  the  battles  they 
fought,  are  as  familiar  in  our  mouths  as  household 
words;  but  who  to-day  thinks  of  Truxtun  and  the 
Constellation ?  Yet  he  was  quite  on  a  level  with  any 
one  of  the  others  in  the  matter  of  personal  gallantry, 
professional  skill  and  unvarying  success.  In  the 
frigate  Constellation  he  fought  two  most  brilliant  sin- 
gle ship  duels:  in  one  instance  with  L'Insur genie,  a 
frigate  of  slightly  less  force  than  his  own,  and  in  the 
other  with  La  Vengeance,  a  very  much  larger  and 
heavier  ship;  the  latter  action  was  the  more  notable 
when  it  is  recalled  that  in  the  War  of  1812,  in  which 
the  United  States  Navy  gained  such  everlasting  re- 
nown, in  almost  every  instance  our  ships  were  larger 
and  carried  heavier  guns  and  more  men  than  those  of 
the  enemy ;  certainly  this  is  true  of  all  the  more  impor- 
tant actions.  This  detracts  nothing  from  the  glory  of 
these  combats,  but  it  certainly  enhances  Truxtun's 
reputation  to  have  thoroughly  beaten  a  ship  which,  in 

179 


180     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

every  particular,  save  in  the  quality  of  the  man  on  the 
quarter-deck  and  the  men  behind  the  guns,  entirely 
outclassed  his  own. 

The  man  himself  is  a  most  romantic  and  pic- 
turesque figure;  he  was,  with  one  possible  exception, 
the  only  one  of  the  sea  officers  of  the  Revolution  who 
subsequently  rose  to  any  degree  of  eminence  in  the 
naval  service.  Born  on  Long  Island,  on  February  17, 
1755  (and  his  natal  was  also  his  lucky  month,  as  we 
shall  see),  he  was  the  son  of  an  eminent  English  lawyer 
settled  in  the  then  royal  colony  of  New  York.  Through 
the  influence  of  a  relative  who  cared  for  him  after  the 
death  of  his  father  early  in  his  own  life,  he  went  to  sea 
in  the  merchant  service  when  only  twelve  years  old. 
His  opportunities  for  education  were  limited  therefore, 
but  he  had  diligently  improved  them  and  by  application 
in  later  life  more  than  made  up  what  he  might  more 
easily  have  acquired  had  he  remained  on  shore.  One 
or  two  books,  technical  in  character,  of  which  he 
was  the  author,  a  treatise  on  navigation,  and  letters 
and  despatches  still  extant,  bear  out  this  statement. 
The  educational  standard  of  the  day  was  certainly  not 
high  and  he  easily  surpassed  it. 

He  made  many  voyages  in  distant  seas,  and  at  one 
time  was  pressed  in  his  Britannic  Majesty's  ship  Pru- 
dent, 64,  where  his  ability  attracting  attention,  he  was 
offered  a  midshipman's  warrant,  but  he  declined  it  and 
was  shortly  after  released  from  the  English  service. 
In  1775,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  actually  commanded 
a  ship — the  Andrew  Caldwell — in  which,  by  his  daring 
and  address,  he  succeeded  in  bringing  large  quantities 
of  much  needed  gunpowder  into  the  rebellious  colonies. 
In  the  same  year,  his  ship,  in  which  he  had  acquired  a 
half  ownership  (good  for  a  boy  of  that  day),  was  cap- 


Truxtun  and  the  Constellation      181 

tured,  condemned  and  sold,  and  he  was  made  a  prison- 
er. Nothing  daunted  by  this  reverse  of  fortune,  he 
finally  escaped  from  surveillance  at  St.  Eustatius  and 
made  his  way  to  Philadelphia.  Early  in  1776  he 
shipped  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Congress,  the  first  to 
get  to  sea  of  a  long  line  of  bold  privateers  which  swept 
the  waters  for  British  ships,  and  in  the  next  war  with 
that  country,  in  1812,  nearly  drove  the  merchant  ves- 
sels of  the  English  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

In  1777  he  fitted  out  the  privateer  ship  Independence, 
boldly  dashed  through  the  British  guard  ships  in  Long 
Island  Sound,  out  around  Lord  Howe's  tremendous 
fleet,  and  made  a  brilliantly  successful  cruise,  captur- 
ing several  ships,  one  larger  and  with  more  guns  and 
men  aboard  of  her  than  his  own. 

On  this  cruise  the  young  privateersman  had  a  rather 
unpleasant  encounter  with  Captain  John  Paul  Jones 
with  regard  to  his  flying  a  pennant  in  the  presence  of 
the  latter's  regularly  commissioned  ship-of-war.  The 
offending  pennant  was  most  properly  hauled  down 
after  a  sharp  correspondence  at  the  demand  of  Captain 
Jones,  always  a  fighter  for  his  prerogatives  and  for 
everything  else  as  well,  but  not  until  the  peremptory 
request  was  backed  by  one  Richard  Dale  with  two 
heavy  boat  crews  fully  armed.  While  the  incident 
speaks  little  for  Truxton's  discretion,  it  says  much  for 
the  pluck  and  courage  of  a  boy  in  daring  to  withstand 
even  for  a  moment  so  great  a  captain  as  Paul  Jones, 
who  taught  him  in  the  end  a  needed  lesson. 

The  next  year,  in  command  of  the  Mars,  a  larger 
and  better  ship,  still  gaily  privateering,  he  emulated  the 
example  of  Wickes  and  Connyngham  and  ravaged  the 
English  Channel,  sending  so  many  prizes  into  Quiberon 
Bay  that  an  international  question  was  vigorously 


1 82     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

raised  by  Lord  Stormont.  Later,  in  the  St.  James, 
a  ship  of  twenty  guns  and  one  hundred  and  twenty 
men,  while  carrying  Mr.  Thomas  Barclay,  just  appoint- 
ed Consul-General  to  France,  he  beat  off,  after  a  des- 
perate action,  an  English  frigate  of  thirty-two  guns! 
A  bold,  clashing,  hard  fighting,  thorough-going  sailor 
was  Master  Thomas  Truxtun,  Revolutionary  Priva- 
teersman. 

In  person  he  was  short  and  stout,  red-faced  and 
gray-eyed,  but  handsome  and  strong  looking.  To  the 
day  of  his  death  he  always  wore  a  quaint,  old-fashioned 
naval  wig.  He  was  quick  tempered  with  men,  especial- 
ly when  he  had  the  gout,  which,  as  he  was  a  high  liver, 
was  not  infrequently;  at  such  times  he  was  wont  to 
make  it  somewhat  unpleasant  for  his  body  servant,  an 
old  seaman  who  had  sailed  with  him  for  many  years. 
With  women  he  was  always  courteous  and  charming, 
and  seeing  that  he  had  thirteen  daughters  and  only  one 
son,  it  may  be  conceded  that  he  had  no  lack  of  experi- 
ence with  the  ruling  sex.  In  short,  he  was  of  that 
quaint,  old-fashioned,  forgotten  type  of  sea  officers 
which  vanished  when  the  romantic  and  beautiful 
sailing  ship  of  the  past  was  supplanted  by  the  prosaic, 
but  intensely  business-like  iron  pot  of  the  day.  He  was 
a  good  Churchman  too,  and  sleeps  after  his  tempestu- 
ous life  in  Christ  Church  burying  ground  in  Philadel- 
phia— well,  he  earned  his  rest. 

After  the  war  he  again  engaged  in  the  merchant 
service,  visiting  at  different  times  in  his  own  ships  all 
quarters  of  the  globe  and  becoming  in  time  wealthy, 
substantial  and  respected.  When  the  United  States 
Navy  was  organized,  in  1794,  under  the  stimulus  of 
the  Algerine  piratical  depredations,  he  was  made  the 
last  of  the  six  captains  for  the  six  new  ships  author- 


Truxtun  and  the  Constellation      183 

ized  by  Congress.  In  his  case,  the  last  certainly  became 
the  first.  He  was  appointed  to  the  new  ship  Constel- 
lation, 38,  then  building  at  Baltimore,  and  superin- 
tended her  building  and  equipment.  She  was  launched 
on  September  7,  1/97,  and  is  at  present  the  oldest  ship 
on  the  United  States  Navy  list,  the  frigate  United 
States,  44,  which  was  launched  two  months  prior,  hav- 
ing long  since  been  destroyed.  The  Algerine  difficulty 
having  been  temporarily  adjusted,  Congress,  smarting 
under  the  arrogant  aggressions  of  the  French  upon 
our  ships  and  flag  abrogated  all  treaties  and,  in  July, 
1798,  began  a  little  naval  warfare  on  its  own  account; 
which  is  chiefly  remembered  for  the  exploits  of  theCon- 
stellation  and  for  having  given  rise,  a  little  time  before 
the  beginning  of  hostilities,  to  Pinckney's  famous  say- 
ing, "Millions  for  defense,  not  one  cent  for  tribute;" or, 
as  a  modern,  iconoclastic,  and  more  probable  version 
writes  his  answer  to  the  French  demands,  "Nary  a 
penny !" 

About  noon  on  Saturday,  February  9, 1 799,  while  the 
Constellation  under  easy  canvas  was  cruising  off  the 
Island  of  St.  Kitts,  a  sail  was  sighted  to  the  southward, 
whereupon  she  squared  away  and  headed  for  the 
stranger.  The  wind  was  blowing  fresh  from  the 
northeast,  and  all  sail  was  at  once  crowded  on  the  frig- 
ate in  chase,  reefs  were  shaken  out  of  the  topsails  by 
the  eager  topmen,  the  royals  and  topgallant  sails  set, 
the  light  studding  sails  on  their  slender  booms  were 
rapidly  extended  far  out  beyond  the  broad  yard-arms, 
and  the  gallant  ship,  ''taking  a  bone  in  her  teeth,"  as 
the  sailors  say,  tore  through  the  waves  and  bore  down 
upon  the  stranger  at  a  tremendous  pace,  the  water 
boiling  and  foaming  about  her  cutwater,  the  spray 
flying  over  her  lee  cathead,  the  waves  rushing  madly 


184     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

along  the  smooth  sides  of  the  great  ship,  and  coming 
together  again  under  her  counter,  making  a  swirling 
wake  in  the  deep  blue  of  the  tossing  sea. 

The  stranger  bore  up  at  once,  hauling  aboard  his 
port  tacks,  and  showed  no  disposition  to  avoid  the  ex- 
pected attack  of  the  Constellation.  The  two  ships 
were  both  very  speedy  and  weatherly;  the  Constella- 
tion was  certainly  the  fastest  vessel  in  the  American 
navy  then  and  for  many  years  after,  and  the  French 
ship  had  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  fast- 
est ships  in  the  navies  of  the  world.  They  neared 
each  other  rapidly  therefore,  but  the  fresh  breeze 
blew  up  into  a  sudden  squall.  The  watchful  Truxtun, 
who  had  noticed  its  approach,  however,  was  ready  for 
it,  though  he  held  on  under  all  sail  till  the  very  last 
breathless  minute.  Just  before  the  blow  fell,  the  order 
was  "In  stun's'ls,  royals  and  topgallants'ls,  all  hands 
reef  tops'ls."  The  nimble  crew  executed  the  orders 
with  such  dashing  precision  that,  when  the  squall 
broke  a  few  moments  after,  everything  was  snug  alow 
and  aloft,  and  the  ship  bore  the  fury  of  the  wind's  at- 
tack unharmed,  having  lost  not  a  foot  of  distance 
through  shortening  sail  before  the  emergency  demand- 
ed it.  As  soon  as  the  squall  cleared  away  and  the  rain, 
which  had  hidden  the  ships  from  each  other,  had 
abated,  the  Constellation's  people  found  that  the  chase 
had  not  fared  so  well  as  they;  less  smartly  handled, 
with  a  less  capable  crew,  she  had  lost  her  main  topmast. 
The  wreck  had  been  cleared  on  her,  her  course  changed 
and,  with  the  wind  now  on  the  quarter,  she  was  head- 
ing in,  hoping  to  make  a  harbor  and  escape  the  conflict. 

Truxtun  and  the  Constellation  would  not  be  denied 
however,  the  yard-arms  were  covered  with  canvas 
again,  the  men  sent  to  quarters,  and  all  preparations 


Truxtun  and  the  Constellation      185 

made  for  the  action.  The  other  ship,  after  hoisting 
various  different  flags,  rinding  escape  impossible,  fin- 
ally set  the  French  colors,  ran  off  to  the  southeast, 
and  gallantly  fired  a  lee  gun  as  a  signal  of  readiness 
to  engage.  At  3  P.M.  the  Constellation  having  taken 
in  her  light  sails,  and  stripped  herself  to  fighting  can- 
vas, drew  up  on  the  Frenchman's  weather  quarter. 
This  was  the  first  great  action  in  which  the  United 
States  Navy  had  ever  borne  a  part.  It  was,  in  fact, 
the  first  great  action  in  which  Captain  Truxtun  had 
ever  borne  a  part  himself.  His  other  battles  had  been 
in  smaller  ships  and  there  had  been  about  the  service 
the  little  taint  of  gain,  which  always  attaches  to  the  pri- 
vateer, the  soldier  of  fortune  of  the  ocean.  .Now  he 
was  the  commander  of  a  perfectly  appointed  ship-of- 
war  representing  the  dignity  and  power  of  the  United 
States.  The  spirit  which  had  defied  blockades,  laughed 
at  odds,  struggled  with  Paul  Jones,  was  with  him 
still,  however,  and  he  did  not  doubt  the  outcome  of  the 
combat;  neither  did  his  men,  and  in  silence  and  confi- 
dence they  approached  the  enemy. 

When  the  Constellation  had  drawn  well  abreast  her 
antagonist,  at  a  distance  of  perhaps  thirty  feet,  the 
Frenchman  hailed.  Captain  Truxtun's  answer  was  a 
terrific  broadside,  which  was  at  once  returned.  As 
the  shot  of  the  enemy  came  crashing  through  the  Con- 
stellation,one  poor  fellow  flinched  from  his  gun,  on  see- 
ing his  mate  literally  disemboweled  by  a  solid  shot,  and 
started  to  run  from  his  quarters.  The  man  was  at 
once  shot  dead  by  Lieutenant  Sterrett,  commanding  the 
third  division  of  guns.  There  was  no  more  flinching 
in  that  battery — that  was  the  kind  of  discipline  on  the 
ship.  The  French  ship,  which  carried  one  hundred 
more  men  than  the  other,  now  immediately  luffed  up 


1 86     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

into  the  wind  to  board,  firing  fiercely  the  while ;  but  the 
Constellation  drew  ahead.  Then  Truxtun  saw  his 
chance;  it  was  "up  helm  and  square  away  again."  He 
ran  the  Constellation  sharply  down  across  the  bows  of 
her  enemy,  and  at  short  range  poured  a  raking  broad- 
side fairly  into  her  face;  then  ranging  along  the  other 
(the  starboard)  side  of  the  Frenchman,  he  finally  took 
position  off  the  starboard  bow,  and  for  nearly  an  hour 
deliberately  poured  in  a  withering  fire.  At  four  o'clock 
Truxtun  drew  ahead  once  more,  luffed  up  into  the 
wind  and  crossed  the  French  ship's  bow,  again  repeat- 
ing the  raking,  sailed  along  the  larboard  side,  firing 
as  he  went,  took  up  a  position  on  the  larboard  bow,  and 
soon  dismounted  every  gun  on  the  main  deck,  leaving 
the  enemy  only  the  light  guns  above  with  which  to  con- 
tinue the  fight — the  French  ship  was  as  helpless  as  a 
chopping  block.  With  masterly  seamanship  the  Amer- 
ican had  literally  sailed  around  the  devoted  French- 
man, destroying  each  battery  in  succession  and  raking 
him  fore  and  aft  again  and  again.  The  doomed 
French  ship  now  drew  ahead  again  and  the  Constella- 
tion crossed  astern  of  her,  and  took  position  in  prepa- 
ration for  another  tremendous  raking  and  pounding, 
when  the  Frenchman  reluctantly  struck  his  flag. 

The  prize  was  the  splendid  frigate  L'lnsurgcnte, 
forty  guns  and  four  hundred  and  nine  men;  Captain 
Barreaut,  her  commander,  made  a  noble  defense  and 
only  struck  his  flag  when  he  had  not  a  single  gun  in 
the  main  battery  which  could  be  used,  and  after  seven- 
ty of  his  crew  had  been  killed  or  wounded.  The 
Constellation  had  two  killed  and  only  three  wounded ! 
The  happy  result  of  this  brilliant  action  between  the 
two  ships  was  due  mainly  to  the  seamanship  of  the 
commander  and  the  gun  practice  of  the  men,  though 


Truxtun  and  the  Constellation      187 

the  Constellation  carrying  long  twenty- four  pounders 
on  her  main  deck  as  against  L'Insurgente's  long  eigh- 
teen pounders  had  a  decided  advantage  of  her.  Among 
the  American  officers  in  this  engagement  were  two 
men,  afterward  justly  celebrated  in  the  War  of  1812; 
Lieutenant  John  Rodgers  and  Midshipman  David 
Porter;  the  latter,  who  was  stationed  in  the  foretop, 
seeing  at  one  period  of  the  action  that  the  topmast 
had  been  seriously  wounded  and  was  tottering  and 
about  to  fall,  being  unable  to  make  any  one  hear  him 
on  deck,  took  the  responsibility  of  lowering  the  fore- 
top-sail  yard  on  his  own  motion,  thus  relieving  the 
strain  on  the  mast  and  preventing  a  mishap  which 
might  have  altered  the  fate  of  the  battle. 

Rodgers  and  Porter  were  placed  in  charge  of  the 
prize.  During  the  night  a  fierce  gale  blew  up,  and  in 
the  morning  the  Constellation  was  nowhere  to  be  seen 
by  Rodgers,  whose  position  was  most  critical.  Thir- 
teen Americans  all  told  were  to  guard  one  hundred  and 
seventy-three  prisoners  who  had  not  been  transferred 
to  the  Constellation,  on  a  leaking,  shattered,  dismasted 
ship,  wallowing  in  the  trough  of  the  sea,  the  dead  and 
dying  still  tossed  about  on  her  heaving  decks.  There 
were  no  handcuffs  or  shackles  aboard,  the  gratings 
which  covered  and  secured  the  hatches  had  been 
thrown  away.  Rodgers  was  a  man  of  splendid  pro- 
portions and  great  strength,  Porter  was  a  determined 
second.  They  and  their  plucky  companions  put  a 
bold  front  on  the  matter  and  resolutely  drove  the 
mutinous  Frenchmen  into  the  lower  hold,  where  they 
were  kept  in  check  by  a  cannon  loaded  to  the  muzzle 
with  grape  and  canister,  and  pointed  down  the  hatch- 
way over  which  bags  of  heavy  shot  were  suspended 
by  lashings  which  could  easily  be  cut  and  the  shot 


1 88     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

dropped  down  upon  the  heads  of  an  attacking  party  be- 
low. Every  small  arm  on  the  ship  was  loaded  and 
placed  conveniently  at  hand,  and  the  hatch  was  closely 
guarded  by  three  men  armed  to  the  teeth.  The  others 
cleared  the  wreck,  made  sail,  and  after  three  days  and 
two  nights  of  the  hardest  labor  and  the  greatest  anx- 
iety, during  which  every  man  of  them  remained  con- 
tinuously on  deck,  they  finally  reached  St.  Kitts,  to  the 
very  great  relief  of  Truxtun  who  had  preceded  them. 
This  exploit  was  scarcely  less  notable  than  had  been  the 
battle  itself.  This  was  the  stern  school  of  the  Ameri- 
can navy,  and  the  subsequent  wars  have  showed  that 
it  developed  men. 


One  year  after  the  capture  of  L'Insurgente,  the 
Constellation,  still  under  Truxtun's  command,  was 
cruising  on  her  old  grounds  to  the  southward  of  St. 
Kitts,  and  about  fifteen  miles  west  of  Basseterre.  Ear- 
ly on  the  morning  of  February  I,  1800,  a  sail  was 
sighted  to  the  southward,  standing  to  the  west. 
Whereupon  the  Constellation  immediately  made  sail 
and  bore  down  in  pursuit  of  the  stranger,  which  was 
soon  seen  to  be  a  large  and  heavily  armed  ship-of-war, 
evidently  much  stronger  in  force  than  the  Constella- 
tion herself.  Not  in  the  least  disquieted  by  this  open 
disparity  in  favor  of  the  enemy,  Truxtun  made  every 
effort  to  close  with  her.  The  Frenchman  apparently 
had  no  stomach  for  a  fight  and  made  equally  deter- 
mined efforts  to  get  away. 

The  wind  was  light  and  baffling,  with  frequent  inter- 
vals of  calm,  and  the  Americans  could  not  get  along- 
side in  spite  of  the  most  persistent  efforts.  For  over 
twenty-four  hours  the  pursuit  continued  with  no  re- 


Truxtun  and  the  Constellation      189 

suit  whatever.  About  two  o'clock  on  the  afternoon 
of  February  second,  being  Sunday  again  (the  frigate's 
lucky  day  it  seemed),  the  breeze  freshened  and  stead- 
ied; and  by  setting  every  cloth  of  canvas  the  swift 
sailing  Constellation  at  last  began  to  draw  up  to  the 
rather  deep  laden  chase.  As  the  breeze  held  and 
there  was  every  prospect  of  soon  overhauling  her,  the 
men  were  sent  to  quarters  and  every  preparation  made 
for  the  fight,  the  yards  were  slung  with  chains,  top- 
sail sheets,  shrouds,  and  other  rigging  stoppered,  pre- 
venter backstays  reeved,  boarding  and  splinter  nettings 
triced  up,  the  boats  covered,  decks  sanded,  maga- 
zines opened,  arms  distributed,  etc. 

The  battle  was  to  be  a  night  one,  however,  as  it  was 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  before  the  two  ships  were 
within  gunshot  distance.  The  candles  in  the  battle- 
lanterns  were  lighted  and  each  frigate  presented  a 
brilliant  picture  to  the  other  as  the  light  streamed  far 
out  over  the  tossing  water.  It  was  a  bright  moonlight 
night  and  the  ships  were  as  visible  as  if  it  were  day- 
time. Seeing  that  escape  was  hopeless,  the  Frenchmen 
apparently  made  up  their  minds  to  a  desperate  contest 
and  all  hands,  including  a  number  of  passengers,  went 
to  quarters,  cheering  loudly,  the  sound  of  their  voices 
coming  faintly  up  the  wind  to  the  silent  Constellation 
sweeping  toward  them. 

Before  the  battle  was  joined  the  stout  commodore 
with  his  aides  descended  to  the  gun-deck  and  passed 
through  the  ship.  The  men  had  been  as  exuberant 
as  children  and  had  gone  to  the  guns  dancing  and 
leaping,  but  as  they  drew  near  the  enemy  their 
exuberance  subsided,  and  joyousness  gave  way  to  a 
feeling  of  calm  deliberation  and  high  resolve  to  repeat, 
if  possible,  the  success  of  the  year  before.  As  he 


190     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

walked  through  the  batteries  Truxtun  emphatically 
charged  his  men  not  to  fire  a  gun  until  he  gave  the 
word,  under  pain  of  death ;  those  who  had  been  in  the 
last  battle  knew  what  he  meant.  He  knew  as  did 
other  great  American  naval  commanders  the  value  of 
a  close,  well-delivered  broadside  at  the  right  moment, 
and  of  that  moment  he  himself  would  be  the  judge. 
His  instructions  were  that  the  loading  of  the  pieces 
was  to  be  as  rapid  as  possible  and  the  fire  deliberate, 
and  only  delivered  when  it  would  be  effective;  not  a 
single  charge  was  to  be  thrown  away ;  the  guns  were  to 
be  loaded  mainly  with  solid  shot  with  the  addition  of 
a  stand  of  grape  now  and  then;  and  the  object  of  their 
attack  was  to  be  the  hull  of  the  enemy;  no  attention 
was  to  be  paid  by  the  main  battery  to  the  spars  or  rig- 
ging. The  marines  and  small-arm  men  were  to  devote 
their  efforts  particularly  to  the  officers  and  crew  of  the 
enemy.  The  officers  were  charged  to  allow  no  undue 
haste  nor  confusion  among  the  men  of  the  several  di- 
visions, and  they  were  cautioned  to  set  the  men  an 
example  of  steadiness  by  their  own  cool  and  deter- 
mined bearing.  Like  a  prudent  commander,  Commo- 
dore Truxtun  wisely  determined  to  throw  away  no 
chance  of  success  by  any  carelessness  on  the  part  of  him- 
self or  his  men ;  as  they  neared  their  huge,  overpower- 
ing antagonist,  the  necessity  for  making  every  shot  tell 
was  as  apparent  to  them  as  to  him.  Again  enjoining 
strict  silence,  the  commodore  regained  the  quarter- 
deck, and  stepping  to  the  lee  side,  for  he  had  skilfully 
held  the  weather-gage  of  his  big  enemy,  he  seized  a 
large  trumpet  and  prepared  to  hail  her. 

At  this  moment  a  bright  flash  of  light  shot  out  into 
the  night  from  the  black  side  of  the  towering  French- 
man, followed  by  the  roar  of  the  discharge  of  a  stern 


Truxtun  and  the  Constellation      191 

chaser  beginning  the  action,  in  which  all  of  the  after 
guns  of  the  Frenchman  immediately  participated.  The 
shot  from  the  long  eighteens  and  twelves,  and  the  great 
bolts  from  the  forty-two-pound  carronades  crashed  in- 
to the  American  frigate  sweeping  steadily  forward. 
Men  began  to  fall  here  and  there  on  the  Constellation's 
decks;  the  wounded,  groaning  or  shrieking  or  stupe- 
fied with  pain,  were  carried  below  to  the  surgeon  and 
his  mates  in  the  cockpit,  while  the  dead  were  hastily 
ranged  along  the  deck  on  the  unengaged  side.  No  one 
made  a  sound,  however,  except  the  wounded,  and  even 
they  endeavored  to  stifle  their  groans  and  rise  super- 
ior to  their  anguish.  But  the  punishment  was  exceed- 
ingly severe  and  it  was  almost  more  than  the  men 
could  bear  to  stand  patiently  receiving  such  an  attack, 
though  Truxtun  sent  his  aides  forward  again,  sternly 
enforcing  his  command  to  the  men  to  withhold  their 
fire  until  directed.  There  was  no  flinching,  however, 
on  this  occasion ;  the  officers  kept  the  men  well  in  hand, 
but  the  situation  was  getting  desperate,  breaths  came 
harder,  hearts  beat  faster,  the  inaction  was  killing; 
was  that  imperturbable  captain  never  going  to  give  the 
order  to  fire? 

Meanwhile  the  frigate  was  rapidly  drawing  nearer, 
now  the  bow  of  the  Constellation  lapped  the  larboard 
quarter  of  the  French  ship,  the  moment  was  coming, 
it  was  at  hand.  Truxtun  swung  his  ship  up  into 
the  wind  a  little  and  away  from  the  other  to  bring 
the  whole  broadside  to  bear,  and  then  leaping  up 
on  the  taffrail  and  from  thence  into  the  mizzen- 
shrouds  in  plain  view  of  both  ships'  crews  and  a 
target  for  a  hundred  rifles  from  the  Frenchman,  lean- 
ing far  out  over  the  black  water,  in  his  deep,  powerful 
voice  he  gave  the  command  to  fire — a  noble  and  heroic 


192     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

figure!  With  wild  cheers  for  their  gallant  captain 
the  men  delivered  the  mighty  broadside.  Their,  own 
ship  reeled  and  trembled  from  the  recoil  of  the  dis- 
charge of  the  heavy  battery,  and  the  effect  on  the  ene- 
my was  fearful;  his  cheering  stopped  at  once  and  a 
moment  of  silence  broken  by  wild  shrieks  of  pain 
and  deep  groans  and  curses  supervened. 

The  conflict  was  soon  resumed,  however,  and  shot 
answered  shot,  cheer  met  cheer  as  the  two  ships,  cov- 
ered with  smoke,  fought  it  out  through  the  long  hours 
of  the  nig'ht.  The  men  toiled  and  sweated  at  the 
guns,  cheering  and  cursing;  the  grime  and  soil  of  the 
powder  smoke  covered  their  half  naked  bodies;  here 
and  there  a  bloody  bandage  bespoke  a  bleeding  wound, 
dead  men  lay  where  they  fell  or  were  thrust  hastily 
aside ;  the  once  white  decks  grew  slippery  with  blood  in 
spite  of  the  sand  poured  upon  them,  as  the  raving, 
maddened  crew  continued  the  awful  conflict.  There 
was  little  opportunity  for  manceuvering,  and  until  mid- 
night they  maintained  a  yard-arm  to  yard-arm  combat. 
The  fire  of  the  Frenchman  was  directed  mainly  at  the 
spars  and  rigging  of  the  Constellation,  so  that  an 
unusually  large  part  of  her  crew  was  employed  in 
splicing  rope  and  reeving  new  gear  as  fast  as  it  was 
shot  away.  Nevertheless,  the  remainder  of  the  crew 
served  their  artillery  so  rapidly  and  brilliantly  that 
many  of  the  guns  became  so  heated  as  to  be  useless, 
until  men  crawled  out  of  the  ports,  in  the  face  of  the 
open  fire  of  the  enemy,  and  dipping  up  buckets  of 
water  cooled  them  off. 

About  one  bell  in  the  mid-watch  (half  after  twelve), 
Trnxtun  at  last  ranged  ahead  and,  taking  posi- 
tion on  the  bow  of  the  French  ship,  finally  succeeded 
in  silencing  completely  her  fire  which  had  grown  more 


Jl&toh'flt,  by  the  Senate  and  hnuse  of  ReprefentaAffs,  of  the  Cnited  Status  nf Atlanta,  in   Cmyrtss  attrmbM. 
That  the  President  of  the  United  State*.  Bt  requested  to  presmt  to  Captain  Thomas  Tnuctiut.  a  Cclden  Medal, 
nnhlanatieal  cf  the  late  araon  bejirtm  the   United  State*  fHyate   Cfn*ttllation-of  thirty  tit/fu  Cunt,  and 
the  Fraidi   Ship  of  trarLa    Vmgtcmn  of  fifty  four  Giuir.    In  testimony  fftfit  fiifffi  tnitf  ditrrtninrti  by 

Congre**  itfAif  Gulliuttri'  find  gvt'd   conduft  in  tfu  above-  engagement,  whertui   on,  ejrample  tt-af  txfiihi- 
-ttd  by  tlu    Captain    Oi'fictrj.  Sailort  and  Marina,  honourable    to  the  American   name  and  instructive 
to  itt  ritina  Wa\y. 

And  it  it  nirther  Setflfed,  that  the  tondiift  ofJanut  Jarvit  tt  Midshipman  in  taid 

J"rtgate.  trho   Glonuiifly  jnn/end  ,trfmn  death  to  an    abandonment  ofhitpntt.  it  deferring  of  the  hiahett 
praire,  and,  that  the  for?  of  fo  jyroTnituiff  an  Officer  if  a-  subject  of  national,  regret. 

Theodore     Sedgwidc, 
Speaker  of  the  house   of  Represetttativet. 

Thomas   Jefferfon, 

Viee  Prtiidml  of  the.    United  States  and  President  of  the.    Senate. 
Approved  AfarJi  s$*lsoo.  John    Adaint, 

President  of  the   United    State*. 

Thomas  Truxtun. 

(The  Medal  and  Congressional  letter  presented  to  him  after  the  action  between  the 
Constellation  and  La  Vengeance.) 


Truxtun  and  the  Constellation      193 

and  more  feeble  as  the  long  hours  wore  away.  After 
five  hours  of  most  desperate  struggle,  the  stranger 
was  defeated.  Indeed,  twice  during  the  night  she  had 
struck  her  colors,  but  her  action  being  unknown 
on  the  Constellation,  the  combat  had  continued. 
There  was  no  doubt  of  the  matter  now,  however;  she 
was  not  only  defeated  but  silenced.  The  last  shot  of 
the  battle  came  from  the  Constellation. 

The  moon  had  set  now  for  some  time  and,  save  for 
the  lights  on  the  ships,  the  sea  was  in  total  darkness. 
The  shining  stars  in  the  quiet  heavens  above  them 
looked  down  upon  a  scene  of  desolation  and  horror. 
Forty  of  the  Constellation's  men  were  dead  or  wound- 
ed out  of  her  crew  of  three  hundred  and  ten,  and  there 
were  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  casualties 
out  of  a  crew  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  on  the  decks 
of  the  hapless  Frenchman — a  fearful  proportion !  The 
rigging  and  spars  of  the  latter  were  more  or  less  intact, 
but  her  hull  was  fearfully  wrecked;  she  had  received 
nearly  two  hundred  solid  shot  therein,  and  she  was 
almost  in  a  sinking  condition,  her  decks  resembling  a 
slaughter-pen. 

As  the  smoke  drifted  away,  the  Constellation  was 
headed  for  the  stranger,  to  range  alongside  and  take 
possession,  when  it  was  discovered  that  every  shroud 
and  stay  supporting  her  mainmast  had  been  carried 
away,  and  the  mast  which  had  been  badly  wounded 
under  the  top  was  tottering  with  the  swaying  of  the 
ship.  The  men  in  the  top  were  under  the  command  of 
Midshipman  James  Jarvis,  a  little  reefer,  only  thirteen 
years  old.  The  boy  was  worthy  of  his  ship  and  captain. 
One  of  the  older  seamen  in  the  top  had  warned  him  that 
the  mast  must  certainly  fall  and  had  advised  him  to 
abandon  his  post  while  there  was  yet  time.  The  lad 


194     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

heroically  refused  saying  that  they  must  remain  at 
their  stations,  and  if  the  mast  went  they  would  have 
to  go  with  it.  Before  the  crew,  who  were  working  des- 
perately, could  secure  it  or  save  it,  it  crashed  over  the 
side  and  carried  with  it  to  instant  death  little  Jarvis 
and  all  the  men  with  him  in  the  top  except  one.  The 
action  of  young  Jarvis  was  as  great  an  act  of  individ- 
ual heroism  as  was  ever  recorded  on  the  sea.  Taken 
in  connection  with  his  extreme  youth,  it  is  even  more 
remarkable  than  the  more  famous  devotion  of  young 
Casabianca  on  the  Orient  at  the  Battle  of  the  Nile. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  delay  and  confusion  thus 
caused,  the  surrendered  French  ship  made  sail  and 
slowly  faded  away  in  the  blackness  of  the  night.  By 
the  time  the  wreck  had  been  cleared,  she  was  lost  to 
sight,  and  in  the  morning  could  nowhere  be  seen. 
She  turned  up  at  Curaqoa  a  few  days  later  in  a  sinking 
condition.  The  Constellation  ran  for  Jamaica  to  re- 
pair damages  and  refit.  The  French  ship  proved  to 
be  the  frigate  La  Vengeance  of  fifty-two  guns,  throw- 
ing one  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifteen  pounds 
of  shot  as  against  the  Constellation's  fifty  guns, 
throwing  only  eight  hundred  and  twenty-six  pounds 
of  shot!  The  difference  in  favor  of  La  Vengeance 
over  the  Constellation  was  about  the  same  as  the 
difference  in  favor  of  the  Constellation  over  L'ln- 
snrgente,  but  in  spite  of  that  the  Constellation  had 
proven  the  victor. 

Truxtun  received  a  medal  from  Congress,  a  magnif- 
icent piece  of  plate  valued  at  six  hundred  guineas  from 
Lloyds,  in  England,  swords,  prize  money  and  other 
rewards. 

Little  Jarvis  was  not  forgotten,  as  the  following 
resolution  of  Congress  will  show. 


Truxtun  and  the  Constellation      195 

"Resolved,  that  the  conduct  of  James  Jarvis,  a 
midshipman  in  said  frigate,  who  gloriously 
preferred  certain  death  to  an  abandonment 
of  his  post,  is  deserving  of  the  highest  praise, 
and  that  the  loss  of  so  promising  an  officer  is 
a  subject  of  national  regret" 

That  is  certainly  honor  enough  for  any  one  boy  or 
man,  and  I  believe  he  is  the  only  youth  so  distinguished 
by  Congress. 

L'Insurgente  had  been  taken  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  and  one  summer  morning  in  1799  she 
sailed  away  into  the  ocean  under  command  of  Captain 
Patrick  Fletcher,  and  never  came  back  again.  No  tid- 
ings of  her  end  after  she  left  the  Capes  of  Virginia  were 
ever  received  and  her  fate  is  one  of  the  untol'd  secrets 
of  the  teeming  sea. 

Six  months  after  her  action  with  the  Constellation 
the  unfortunate  La  Vengeance  was  captured,  after  an- 
other desperate  battle,  in  which  she  lost  over  a  hundred 
men  killed  and  wounded,  by  the  British  thirty-eight- 
gun  frigate  Seine.  In  both  instances  she  was  beaten 
by  an  inferior  force.  The  Constellation  still  flies  the 
American  flag  and  hundreds  of  future  admirals  (and 
some  who  are  not,  and  never  will  be,  admirals,  includ- 
ing the  writer)  learned  their  seamanship  upon  her 
when  she  was  the  practise  ship  of  the  Naval  Academy ; 
playing  at  war  upon  those  decks  which  had  resounded 
with  the  roar  of  the  guns  in  those  half  forgotten  days 
when  she  so  successfully  fought  the  enemies  of  her 
country  under  the  command  of  brave  old  Truxtun  and 
his  gallant  men. 


AMERICAN  FIGHTS  AND  FIGHTERS 

PART  IV 

WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI 
1802-1805 


DECATUR    AND    THE 
PHILADELPHIA 


THE  most  romantic  and  brilliant  figure  in  the  naval 
annals  of  our  country  is  Stephen  Decatur.  Born  in 
1779,  while  this  country  was  in  the  throes  of  the 
Revolution,  his  ancestry  French  and  Irish,  always  a 
brilliant  combination,  he  early  set  the  pace  for  daring 
and  courage  and  consistently  kept  up  to  his  own  mark 
until  the  end.  Most  of  our  other  naval  heroes  gained 
their  immortality  by  a  single  fight.  Decatur's  name  is 
associated  during  three  wars  with  a  half  dozen  ex- 
ploits and  encounters  of  the  greatest  brilliancy,  any 
one  of  which  would  give  him  eternal  fame. 

Think  of  his  dash  and  desperate  courage  in  the  hand 
to  hand  fighting  with  the  gunboats  at  Tripoli,  his  de- 
cision and  firmness  in  wringing  a  treaty  of  peace  from 
the  Dey  of  Algiers  subsequently ;  the  splendid  battle  in 
which  he  captured  the  Macedonian  while  in  command 
of  the  frigate  United  States  in  the  War  of  1812;  the 
bold  way  in  which  he  dashed  out  of  New  York  Har- 
bor in  the  face  of  a  heavy  blockade  later  on  in  the  Presi- 
dent; his  smashing  fight  with  the  frigate  Endymion,a.nd 
his  persistent  and  desperate  effort  to  escape  in  a  disabled 
ship  from  a  whole  British  squadron  after  that  action; 

199 


2oo     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

his  intrepidity  in  several  personal  encounters  in  the 
shape  of  duels — unfortunately  so  prevalent  at  that 
time — in  one  of  which  he  finally  met  his  death.  Add 
to  this  catalogue  his  burning  love  of  country,  his  un- 
quenchable determination  to  stand  up  for  his  service 
and  his  flag  on  every  occasion,  at  whatever  cost;  his 
famous  sentiment,  "My  country!  may  she  always  be 
right;  but  right  or  wrong,  my  country!" — why,  any 
one  of  these  things  is  enough  to  have  given  him  im- 
mortality, any  one  would  put  him  upon  a  plane  of  equal- 
ity with  the  other  great  captains  of  his  time.  But  the 
event  which,  more  than  any  of  those  cited,  has  en- 
deared him  to  his  countrymen,  and  to  all  who  love  the 
brave,  is  that  exploit  which  Lord  Nelson,  than  whom 
there  could  be  no  better  judge,  called  "the  most  bold 
and  daring  act  of  the  age" — the  cutting  out  of  the 
Philadelphia.  This  occurred  in  the  year  1804,  in  the 
war  with  the  Barbary  pirates. 

It  is  to  the  eternal  glory  of  America  that  the  United 
States,  then  a  young,  weak,  struggling  country,  should 
have  been  the  first  among  civilized  powers  to  put  down 
the  frightful  depredations  of  those  brutal  pirates  with 
an  iron  hand.  The  nascent  navy  followed  Scipio's 
famous  maxim  and  carried  the  war  into  Africa,  prose- 
cuting it  there  with  such  vigor  and  success  that,  when 
the  conflict  was  over,  the  ships  of  our  country  alone, 
among  the  the  nations  of  the  world,  sailed  the  Medi- 
terranean untroubled  by  these  ruthless  corsairs;  while 
merchant  vessels  of  other  countries  pursued  their  way 
before  these  licensed  blackmailers  in  fear  and  trem- 
bling, unless  protected  by  ignoble  tribute,  until  our  ex- 
ample of  resistance  was  followed.  The  war  not  only 
resulted  in  the  protection  of  the  merchant  marine,  but 
it  proved  the  nursery  of  the  navy  as  well,  and  in  it 


Decatur  and  the  Philadelphia      201 

were  laid  those  foundations  of  skill  and  ability  which 
were  so  costly  to  Great  Britain,  and  so  useful  to  our 
country  in  later  days.  The  history  of  the  little  war  fair- 
ly bristles  with  glorious  achievements,  and  the  names 
of  stout  old  Commodore  Preble  and  his  efficient  sub- 
ordinates, Stewart,  Hull,  Bainbridge,  Somers,  Wads- 
worth,  Trippe,  Sterrett,  Lawrence,  Macdonough,  Mor- 
ris, Jones,  Israel,  and  many  others,  constitute  a  galaxy 
of  heroes  whom  it  would  be  hard  to  equal,  much  less 
surpass.  The  brightest  name  among  them  all,  how- 
ever, was  that  of  Stephen  Decatur.  He  had  been  but 
five  years  in  the  naval  service,  to  which  he  traditional- 
ly belonged,  as  his  father  had  been  a  naval  officer 
during  the  Revolution,  and  his  brother  and  other 
relatives  were  in  the  service  with  him,  when  he  was 
sent  to  Tripoli  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  as  one  of  Pre- 
ble's  "schoolboy  captains." 

The  frigate  Philadelphia,  38,  one  of  the  best  of  her 
class,  had  been  blockading  the  harbor  of  Tripoli  in  the 
fall  of  1803.  She  was  under  the  command  of  William 
Bainbridge,  an  officer  of  great  professional  skill  and 
high  merit,  who  subsequently  distinguished  himself  in 
the  War  of  1812  in  the  old  Constitution,  by  his  capture 
of  the  frigate  Java.  One  morning,  while  chasing  a 
cruiser  or  blockade  runner  hard  in  shore,  she  ran  upon 
an  hitherto  unknown  and  uncharted  reef.  Her  guns 
were  thrown  overboard,  the  foremast  cut  away,  the 
ship  otherwise  lightened,  and  every  effort  made  to 
force  her  off,  but  with  no  success,  as  she  finally  bilged. 
When  in  that  helpless  condition  and  unable  to  make 
any  resistance  she  was  captured  by  a  swarm  of  Tri- 
politan  gunboats. 

In  spite  of  the  efforts  which  had  been  made  by 
Bainbridge  to  render  her  unseaworthy,  the  Tripoli- 


2O2     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

tans,  unhampered  by  any  American  vessels  of  war, 
for  none  were  present,  succeeded  in  hauling  her 
off  the  rocks,  patching  her  up,  and  taking  her  into 
the  harbor  of  Tripoli,  where  she  was  anchored  under 
the  guns  of  the  Bashaw's  castle.  Her  guns  had  been 
recovered  and  replaced  in  her  ports.  This  capture  mate- 
rially altered  the  situation.  The  addition  of  this  heavy 
frigate  to  the  other  defenses  of  the  place  rendered  it 
impossible  for  the  small  American  squadron  to  attack 
with  any  degree  of  success.  It  might  be  said  that  the 
whole  war  depended,  for  the  present  at  any  rate,  upon 
the  Philadelphia. 

Decatur  conceived  the  idea  of  cutting  her  out,  and 
applied  to  Commodore  Preble  for  the  privilege  of  do- 
ing so.  The  notion  seems  to  have  occurred  to  several 
other  officers  independently  about  the  same  time,  one 
of  whom  was  Stewart,  and  probably  to  Preble  himself 
as  well ;  but  careful  investigation  inclines  me  to  believe 
in  the  priority  of  Decatur's  conception.  At  any  rate 
his  offer  was  accepted  and  arrangements  were  at  once 
made  to  carry  it  out.  The  Mastico,  a  little  ketch  of 
about  fifty  tons  burden  was  ready  to  hand.  She  was 
a  vessel  peculiar  to  the  Mediterranean,  with  two  masts, 
the  forward  one  set  well  amidships,  leaving  a  long, 
clear  space  forward  upon  which  bombs  were  frequeirtly 
mounted,  and  the  after  one,  the  smaller,  both  carrying 
fore  and  aft  sails;  the  boat  was  provided  with  sweeps 
or  enormous  oars,  used  in  fair  or  calm  weather.  She 
had  been  captured  recently  by  the  Enterprise,  at  that 
time  under  the  command  of  Decatur  himself. 

The  ketch  had  been  built  by  the  French  and  used  as 
a  bomb  vessel  in  Egypt,  where  she  had  been  captured 
by  the  English  at  the  Battle  of  Aboukir,  and  by  thfm 
presented  to  the  Tripoli  tans — a  Greek  gift  as  it  after- 


Decatur  and  the  Philadelphia      203 

ward  turned  out!  When  she  was  captured  by  Decatur 
she  had  just  left  the  harbor  with  a  lot  of  female 
slaves  on  board,  a  present  to  the  Sultan  of  Turkey. 
When  she  returned  she  carried  quite  a  different  crew. 
She  was  small  and  in  every  way  a  miserable  vessel, 
but  the  best  for  their  purpose  that  could  be  had. 

As  soon  as  he  had  received  his  orders  from  Preble, 
to  whose  wise  planning  their  success  was  largely  due, 
Decatur  mustered  his  crew  on  the  Enterprise,  explained 
the  hazardous  nature  of  the  venture,  and  called  for  vol- 
unteers. Every  officer  and  man  at  once  clamored  to 
be  taken.  From  the  Enterprise  Lieutenants  James 
Lawrence,  Joseph  Bainbridge,  Jonathan  Thorn,  Sur- 
geon L.  Heerman,  and  Midshipman  Thomas  Macdon- 
ough  (late  of  the  Philadelphia,  and  escaping  capture 
on  account  of  being  on  detached  service  when  she  was 
lost),  with  sixty-two  of  the  more  active  men  of  the 
crew,  were  chosen.  To  these  were  added  Midshipmen 
Izard,  Rowe,  Charles  Morris,  Lewis,  and  Davis  from 
the  Constitution,  and  a  Sicilian  pilot  named  Salvator 
Catalino.  Charles  Stewart,  who  commanded  the  war 
brig  Siren,  and  who  as  Decatur's  superior  officer  was 
nominally  in  command  of  the  whole  expedition,  though 
the  details  and  the  execution  of  the  matter  were  entire- 
ly left  to  Decatur,  was  ordered  to  accompany  the  ketch, 
which  had  been  re-named,  and  most  appropriately,  the 
Intrepid,  on  her  adventure. 

One  hour  after  receiving  notice  they  left  Syracuse, 
Italy,  on  February  3,  1804,  and  six  days  after,  late  in 
the  afternoon,  appeared  off  the  mouth  of  the  harbor 
of  Tripoli.  The  wind  was  rising  and  the  sea  breaking 
over  the  bar  off  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  with  such 
force  that  Midshipman  Morris  and  the  pilot,  who  had 
been  sent  to  reconnoiter  in  one  of  the  cutters,  reported 


204     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

that  it  would  be  difficult  to  get  in  with  safety,  and  im- 
possible to  get  out,  so  the  two  vessels  reluctantly 
decided  to  wait  for  better  weather.  It  came  on  to  blow 
tremendously  almost  immediately  thereafter,  and  for 
six  days  the  two  little  boats  beat  up  against  an  awful 
storm.  The  situation  on  the  ketch  was  most  critical. 
No  provision  had  been  made  for  so  extended  a  stay; 
there  were  no  places  in  which  the  men  could  adequate- 
ly shelter  themselves  from  the  fury  of  the  storm  and  the 
cold  wintry  rain;  the  captain  and  three  lieutenants  oc- 
cupied the  small  cabin,  the  midshipmen  and  marines 
slept  upon  a  small  platform,  the  sailors  on  the  water 
and  provision  casks.  The  salt  bacon,  their  only  provi- 
sion, spoiled,  and  as  the  ship  was  infested  with  vermin 
from  her  previous  occupants,  their  situation  was  as 
uncomfortable  as  it  was  precarious.  The  men,  like 
true  American  jackies,  kept  their  spirits  up,  however, 
and  endured  the  hardships  cheerfully. 

After  six  days  of  labor  the  gale  abated  and  the  two 
ships  determinedly  made  for  the  harbor  once  more  to 
carry  out  their  astonishing  purpose.  After  getting  as 
near  as  she  dared,  for  fear  of  discovering  her  charac- 
ter to  the  enemy,  the  Siren  hove  to,  about  two  miles 
from  the  harbor  mouth,  and  the  Intrepid  went  on 
alone.  Before  she  parted  with  the  Siren  Midship- 
man Anderson  and  eight  men  were  sent  aboard  her 
by  Stewart  to  supplement  the  crew.  It  had  been 
arranged  that  the  attack  of  the  ketch  should  be  sup- 
ported by  the  Siren's  boats,  but  delay  occurring, 
Decatur  decided  not  to  wait  for  them,  remarking  to 
his  officers,  "The  fewer  the  number  the  greater  the 
honor!"  It  was  still  early  evening,  and  with  beating 
hearts  the  men  on  the  brig  watched  the  little  ketch 
speed  into  the  harbor  toward  the  Philadelphia. 


Decatur  and  the  Philadelphia      205 

The  frigate  lay  swinging  to  the  wind  under  the  guns 
of  the  Bashaw's  castle,  and  protected  on  every  side  by 
the  powerful  land  batteries  and  forts,  mounting  over 
one  hundred  and  fifteen  heavy  guns,  beside  number- 
less smaller  pieces,  and  manned  by  twenty-five  thousand 
men.  On  either  side,  reaching  toward  the  entrance 
of  the  harbor,  like  the  horns  of  a  wide  crescent,  were 
arranged  three  smart  cruisers,  two  large  galleys  and 
nineteen  gunboats.  The  group  of  vessels  resembled  an 
open  mouth,  at  the  back  of  which  was  the  Philadelphia. 
Into  these  jaws  of  death  Decatur  boldly  sent  the  Intrep- 
id. The  breeze  being  still  fresh,  though  dying,  drags 
composed  of  buckets,  spare  spars  and  canvas  were  cast 
astern  to  diminish  the  speed  of  the  vessel  coming  on 
too  rapidly,  as  any  attempt  to  take  in  sail  would  have 
been  suspicious.  As  the  hours  of  the  evening  wore 
away,  the  wind  fell  and  she  crept  slowly  up  the 
harbor. 

The  evening  was  balmy  and  pleasant,  the  moon 
in  that  tropic  land  had  flooded  the  heavens  with  mystic 
light,  bathing  the  minarets  and  towers  of  the  sleeping 
town  upon  the  shores  with  silver  splendor;  lights 
twinkled  here  and  there  in  the  white  walled  city,  and 
the  Philadelphia  herself  was  brilliantly  illuminated  by 
long  rows  of  battle-lanterns  which  sent  beams  of  yel- 
low lustre  to  mingle  with  the  soft  moonlight  upon  the 
sparkling  water.  The  frigate's  foremast  had  been  cut 
away  in  the  effort  to  get  her  off  the  reef,  her  topmasts 
were  housed  and  the  lower  yards  lay  athwart  ship  on 
the  gunwales;  the  lower  rigging  was  set  up  and  as  it 
was  afterward  learned,  all  her  guns  were  shotted.  A 
heavy  crew,  probably  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  was 
on  board. 

What  must  have  been  the  sensations  of  the  men  in 


206     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

that  little  ketch  as  they  glided  along?  To  what  were 
they  going?  Destruction,  victory,  what  would  be  the 
end  of  it  ?  By  Decatur's  orders,  the  men  had  concealed 
themselves  by  lying  flat  upon  the  decks,  behind  the 
bulwarks,  rails,  masts,  bitts,  etc.,  and  only  a  few  of 
the  seamen,  dressed  like  Sicilian  sailors,  with  Decatur 
and  the  pilot  aft  to  con  the  ship,  and  an  old  battle- 
scarred  veteran  at  the  wheel,  were  visible.  Eighty- 
three  men  in  a  little  ramshackle  boat,  a  cockle-shell, 
were  going  into  a  harbor  defended  by  scientifically 
constructed  and  well-armed  batteries,  to  attempt  to 
take  a  thirty-eight-gun  frigate  full  manned  and  armed 
and  surrounded  by  a  fleet  of  small  boats  carrying  fifty 
to  sixty  more  guns,  all  bearing  upon  the  Philadelphia 
herself,  in  expectation  of  just  such  an  attack;  the  at- 
tack itself  to  be  delivered  in  the  bright  moonlight 
and  in  the  early  evening,  about  half  after  ten  o'clock ! 

The  very  audacity  of  the  conception  strikes  one  with 
amazement,  and  to  its  boldness  is  largely  due  the  im- 
munity the  attackers  enjoyed ;  that  anybody  should  at- 
tempt such  a  thing  was  absolutely  incredible!  The 
thoughts  of  the  young  men  doubtless  went  back  to  home 
and  friends,  sweethearts  and  wives,  but,  with  the  de- 
termination of  heroes,  they  schooled  their  beating 
hearts,  nerved  their  resolution,  and  stifled  any  sensa- 
tions of  trepidation  which  might  naturally  possess 
them. 

As  they  approached  the  Philadelphia  Decatur  or- 
dered the  seaman  at  the  wheel  to  head  the  ketch  for  the 
bows  of  the  latter  ship,  determining  to  lay  his  vessel 
athwart  the  hawse  of  the  frigate  and  board  from 
thence.  As  they  drew  near  the  Tripolitan  hailed.  By 
Decatur's  direction  the  pilot  answered  that  they  were 
traders  from  Malta,  who  had  lost  their  anchors  in  the 


Decatur  and  the  Philadelphia     207 

recent  storm  and  desired  the  privilege  of  riding  by  the 
Philadelphia  for  the  night  i.  e.,  attaching  their  boat 
to  the  frigate's  cables  until  morning. 

This  not  unusual  request  was  granted  as  a  matter 
of  course,  and  after  assuring  the  watchful  Tripolitan 
that  the  brig  in  the  offing,  about  which  he  had  made 
inquiry,  was  an  English  schooner,  the  Transfer, 
the  Siren's  boat,  which  was  swinging  astern,  was 
manned  by  the  sailors  upon  the  deck  and  a  line  carried 
forward  to  the  port-sheet  cable.  At  this  moment  a 
sudden  shift  of  wind  took  the  ketch  aback  and  she 
hung  motionless,  directly  in  line  with  the  frigate's  bat- 
tery, and  not  forty  yards  away.  The  position  was  one 
fraught  with  the  greatest  danger.  If  they  were  discov- 
ered now  they  were  lost.  The  pilot,  however,  by 
Decatur's  orders,  amused  the  enemy  with  descriptions 
of  the  cargo  and  sea  gossip  in  his  lingua  Franca,  the 
common  language  of  the  Mediterranean,  until  the  boat 
got  away,  and  the  ketch  feeling  the  breeze  moved  for- 
ward again.  The  coolness  and  resource  of  their  young 
commander  had  saved  them.  The  Tripolitans  with 
ready  kindness — soon  to  be  ill-requited — had  sent  a 
boat  of  their  own  with  a  cable  leading  from  the  port 
quarter  off  which  they  desired  the  ketch  to  lie.  With 
great  presence  of  mind  the  Americans  intercepted  the 
boat  and  took  the  cable  back  to  the  ketch  themselves. 
The  two  lines  were  fastened  together  and  then  passed 
in  board,  where  the  men,  lying  down  on  the  deck, 
grasped  it  in  their  hands  without  rising  and  lustily 
hauled  away,  breasting  the  Intrepid  steadily  in  toward 
the  frigate. 

As  the  ketch  gathered  way,  she  shot  into  the  moon- 
light between  the  shadows  cast  by  the  masts  of  the 
Philadelphia,  when  the  Tripolitan  commander  at  once 


208     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

discovered  her  anchors  hanging  over  her  bows  in  plain 
sight.  Indignant  at  the  deception  which  had  been 
practised,  but  still  unsuspicious  of  the  true  character 
of  the  stranger,  he  ordered  the  fasts  immediately  to  be 
cut;  at  the  same  moment  some  of  his  crew  discovered 
the  men  upon  the  decks  of  the  ketch.  The  alarm  was 
instantly  given.  The  cry,  "Americanos,  Americanos," 
rang  out  over  the  water.  The  Americans  sprang 
to  their  feet,  and  though  the  ketch  at  this  time 
lay  directly  under  the  broadside  of  the  Philadelphia, 
and  could  have  been  blown  out  of  the  water  by  her 
heavy  guns,  disregarding  their  peril  in  their  wild  de- 
sire for  action  after  their  long  restraint,  they  gave 
such  a  pull  upon  the  line  that  before  it  could  be  cut  the 
ketch  had  sufficient  way  to  strike  the  side  of  the  Phil- 
adelphia, where  eager  hands  at  once  made  her  fast. 
Not  an  order  had  been  given  nor  a  sound  made. 

Decatur  now  shouted  the  command  "boarders 
away,"  and  sprang  at  the  main  chains.  Midshipmen 
Morris  and  Laws,  who  were  beside  him,  leaped  for- 
ward at  the  same  instant.  Laws  dashed  in  through  a 
port,  but  the  pistols  in  his  boarding  belt  caught  between 
the  gun  and  the  port-sill,  the  foot  of  Decatur  slipped, 
and  Charles  Morris  was  the  first  man  to  stand  upon  the 
deck  of  the  Philadelphia.  A  second  after,  the  other 
two  men  were  with  him,  and  the  rest  of  the  crew 
poured  in  over  the  rail,  and  with  cutlasses  or  boarding 
pikes,  charged  down  upon  the  astonished  Tripolitans. 
The  weapons  were  cold  steel,  the  watchword  "Phila- 
delphia." No  firearms  were  used,  for  Preble's  strict 
orders  had  been  to  "carry  all  with  the  sword." 

Without  cheers  and  with  desperate  energy  the  little 
band  dashed  at  the  masses  of  astonished  and  terrified 
men  before  them,  and  the  whistle  of  the  cutlasses,  the 


Decatur  and  the  Philadelphia     209 

ring  of  steel  against  steel,  the  thud  of  the  pike  as  it 
buried  itself  in  some  beating  heart,  alone  gave  evidence 
of  the  fell  purpose  of  the  stern  boarders. 

Their  attack  was  pressed  home  with  such  vigor  that 
the  Americans  could  not  be  denied ;  forming  a  line  from 
bulwark  to  bulwark  they  cleared  the  deck.  After  a 
short  but  fierce  resistance,  in  which  upward  of  twenty 
Tripolitans  were  killed,  those  remaining  on  the  upper 
deck  jumped  overboard,  where  many  of  them  were 
killed  by  Anderson  and  his  boat  crew,  or  were 
drowned;  others  concealed  themselves  below  to  meet 
a  worse  fate  later.  A  similar  scene  was  en- 
acted upon  the  gun-deck  by  Lawrence,  Bainbridge, 
Macdonough,  and  others,  during  and  following  the 
action  above.  Only  the  watchword  in  the  darkness 
and  excitement  had  prevented  several  of  the  Ameri- 
cans from  attacking  each  other.  In  ten  minutes  the 
ship  was  captured.  Not  an  American  had  been 
wounded,  so  far. 

Decatur  would  have  given  half  his  life  to  have 
brought  her  out,  and  many  naval  officers  have  be- 
lieved that  he  could  have  done  so.  It  would  have  been 
a  matter  of  extreme  difficulty  in  face  of  the  dangers, 
especially  as  there  was  not  a  yard  crossed  nor  a  sail 
bent ;  and  as  he  had  received  positive  orders  not  to  at- 
tempt it,  he  had  to  obey.  The  ketch  had  been  filled 
with  combustibles,  and  they  were  immediately  passed 
on  board.  The  crew  had  been  divided  into  several 
different  parties,  and  each  body  of  men,  under  the  di- 
rection of  an  officer,  had  been  carefully  instructed  just 
what  was  to  be  done.  With  remarkable  speed  and 
order  each  group  proceeded  to  its  appointed  station 
and,  speedily  arranging  the  inflammable  matter,  ap- 
plied the  torch. 


2io     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

So  rapidly  was  this  done  that  those  charged  with  the 
duty  of  starting  the  fires  below  were  almost  cut  off  from 
escape  by  the  flames  and  smoke  from  the  conflagra- 
tion above.  In  less  than  thirty  minutes  the  ship  was  on 
fire  in  every  direction,  and  the  Americans  had  re- 
gained the  ketch !  Decatur  was  the  last  man  to  leave 
the  Philadelphia.  The  bow-fast  and  the  grapnels  on  the 
Intrepid  were  hastily  cut,  the  sweeps  manned,  and  in- 
stant endeavor  was  made  to  get  clear.  For  some  un- 
accountable reason,  however,  the  ketch  clung  to  the 
frigate.  Broad  sheets  of  flame  came  rushing  out  from 
the  latter's  ports  and  played  over  the  deck  of  the  In- 
trepid. The  situation  was  serious.  It  was  the  most 
critical  moment  of  the  enterprise.  All  the  powder  on 
the  Intrepid,  in  default  of  a  magazine,  was  stored  upon 
the  deck,  covered  only  by  a  tarpaulin,  over  which  the 
flames  were  roaring.  In  another  moment  they  would 
be  blown  up.  They  retained  their  presence  of  mind, 
however,  and  soon  discovered  that  the  stern-fast  had 
not  been  cast  off.  Decatur  and  others  sprang  upon  the 
taffrail  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  and  as  no  axes  were 
at  hand,  hacked  the  line  asunder  with  their  swords.  The 
Intrepid  was  clear.  After  a  few  lusty  strokes,  which 
carried  them  a  little  distance  away,  the  men  stopped 
rowing  and  gave  three  hearty  American  cheers.  They 
waited  until  success  was  achieved  and  then,  in  the  midst 
of  further  danger,  gave  tongue  to  their  emotions — a 
significant  action ! 

At  the  same  moment  the  startled  Tripolitans  awoke 
to  life.  The  minutes  of  stupor  with  which  they  had 
witnessed  the  attack,  which  they  hardly  comprehended, 
gave  place  to  energy.  The  rolling  of  the  drums  upon 
the  shore  mingled  with  the  wild  shouts  and  cries  of  the 
excited  soldiery.  Lights  appeared  upon  the  parapets 


Decatur  and  the  Philadelphia     211 

and  immediately  the  roar  of  a  heavy  gun,  which  sent  a 
shell  over  the  ketch,  broke  the  silence.  As  if  this  had 
been  a  signal,  every  battery  and  every  vessel  in  the 
harbor  awoke  to  action  and  commenced  a  furious 
cannonade. 

Solid  shot,  shells,  canister  and  grape  shrieked  and 
screamed  in  the  air  about  the  devoted  Intrepid,  casting 
up  beautiful  jets-d'eau  upon  the  surface  of  the  bay, 
which  the  flames  from  the  burning  Philadelphia  ren- 
dered as  light  as  day.  The  Americans,  having  cheered 
to  their  hearts'  content,  bent  to  their  oars,  and  with 
such  energy  as  they  probably  never  had  used  before, 
they  speedily  fled  from  the  harbor. 

The  spectacle  they  were  leaving  was  one  of  awe 
inspiring  magnificence.  The  frigate,  from  her  long 
cruise  in  the  tropic  latitude,  was  as  dry  as  paper,  and 
burned  like  tinder.  The  flames  ran  up  the  lofty  spars 
in  lambent  columns  and  clustered  about  the  broad  tops 
in  rosy  capitals  of  wavering  and  mysterious  beauty. 
As  the  fire  spread,  the  guns  of  her  battery  became 
heated,  and  in  sullen  succession  they  poured  forth  their 
messengers  of  death  upon  the  harbor  and  the  affrighted 
town  toward  which  the  starboard  broadside  bore.  It 
was  a  death  song  and  a  last  salute,  for,  as  the  eager 
watchers  gazed  in  melancholy  triumph  upon  the  results 
of  their  own  destructive  handiwork,  she  drifted  ashore 
and  with  a  frightful  explosion,  which  seemed  to  rend 
the  heavens  and  surface  the  sky  with  fire,  she  blew  up ! 
A  moment  of  silence  supervened,  which  was  broken  by 
the  roar  of  the  batteries  resuming  the  cannonade. 

Strange  to  say,  the  Intrepid  passed  through  the  fusil- 
lade unharmed,  one  man  being  slightly  wounded,  and  a 
grape  shot  passing  through  a  sail !  The  moon  had 
set  and  the  eager  watchers  on  the  Siren  finally  lost 


212     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

track  of  the  vessel  in  the  darkness.  Their  burning 
anxiety  as  to  her  fate  was  not  relieved  until  a  boat 
dashed  alongside  and  a  manly  figure,  clad  in  a  sailor's 
rough  jacket,  and  grifned  with  smoke,  sprang  on 
board,  triumphantly  announcing  their  safe  arrival. 
It  was  Decatur ! 


AMERICAN  FIGHTS  AND  FIGHTERS 
PART  V 

THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH 
ENGLAND 

1812-1815 


. 


THE    CONSTITUTION'S  HARDEST 
FIGHT 


ON  December  29,  1812,  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, the  United  States  ship  Constitution  was  lazily 
tossing  to  and  fro  in  the  long  swell  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  about  thirty  miles  off  the  northeast  coast  of 
Brazil.  She  was  carrying  all  plain  sail,  from  royals 
down,  and  under  the  influence  of  a  light  breeze  was 
gently  shoving  her  mighty  prow  through  the  tumbling 
waters.  Almost  a  month  before,  in  company  with  the 
sloop-of-war  Hornet,  she  had  started  on  a  cruise  for 
the  Pacific  Ocean  in  the  hope  that  the  ships  might  play 
havoc  with  the  British  East  India  trade.  They  were 
to  be  joined  later  at  a  certain  rendezvous  by  the  frig- 
ate Essex,  Captain  David  Porter,  and  the  little  squad- 
ron was  under  the  command  of  Commodore  William 
Bainbridge,  as  fine  a  seaman  and  as  bold  a  fighter  as 
ever  trod  an  American  deck.  The  Hornet  had  been 
detached  to  blockade  another  British  sloop-of-war,  the 
Bonne  Citoyenne,  in  the  harbor  of  Bahia,  and  the 
Constitution  was  cruising  off  the  coast  while  waiting 
for  the  Essex. 

Bainbridge  was  a  most  distinguished  officer,  high  in 
rank  and  held  in  great  consideration  in  the  service. 

215 


216     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

He  was  a  veteran  of  the  French  and  Tripolitan  wars, 
and  it  was  due  to  his  arguments,  coupled  with  those  of 
the  famous  Charles  Stewart,  that  the  American  ships 
at  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  1812  were  allowed  to 
get  to  sea  wherever  possible.  It  had  been  the  plan  of 
the  authorities  to  dismantle  the  ships,  never  dreaming 
that  they  could  cope  with  the  gigantic  and  successful 
English  navy,  and  it  was  only  after  the  most  urgent 
representations  that  Bainbridge  and  Stewart  succeed- 
ed in  changing  the  plan.  There  is  therefore  due  to 
these  men,  from  all  Americans,  a  deep  debt  of  grati- 
tude, for  the  War  of  1812  would  have  turned  out  very 
differently  had  it  not  been  for  the  exploits  of  our  ships, 
which  laid  in  that  period  the  foundation  of  the  future 
naval  greatness  of  our  country.  The  successes  of 
Manila  and  Santiago  may  be  traced  back  to  Bain- 
bridge  and  Stewart.  Bainbridge  had  been  an  able  but 
not  hitherto  a  very  lucky  captain.  In  the  war  with 
France  his  ship  had  been  captured,  though  by  his  ad- 
dress he  had  saved  two  other  vessels  from  being  taken 
at  the  same  time.  Subsequently  he  made  a  brilliant 
cruise  in  the  Norfolk  and  performed  some  remarkable 
feats  of  seamanship  and  skill  in  blockading.  During 
the  Tripolitan  War  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  the 
Philadelphia,  as  we  have  seen,  though  without  the 
slightest  reflection  being  attached  to  him  in  any  way, 
his  conduct  having  been  characterized  by  a  court-mar- 
tial as  exhibiting  the  highest  degree  of  professional 
skill  and  courage. 

He  was  a  man  of  striking  personality,  six  feet  high, 
and  of  splendid  proportion  as  well.  His  spirit  was  as 
great  as  his  body.  While  in  command  of  an  armed 
merchantman,  on  one  occasion  he  captured  an  English 
war  vessel  of  twice  the  size  and  armament  of  his  own. 


The  Constitution's  Hardest  Fight  217 

When  master  of  the  merchant  ship  Hope,  an  Eng- 
lish ship-of-the-line  took  from  him  one  of  his  men. 
He  vowed  that  he  would  supply  the  place  of  the  man 
from  the  next  English  ship  he  met  and  he  did  so.  A 
bad  man  to  tackle  was  Captain  William  Bainbridge 
on  this  bright,  sunny  morning,  when  at  nine  o'clock 
two  sail  were  reported  from  the  masthead.  The  larg- 
er of  the  two  ships  discovered  to  the  windward  at 
once  set  toward  the  Constitution,  the  other  made  sail 
to  escape.  As  the  ships  drew  nearer  it  was  seen  that 
the  escaping  ship  was  a  large  merchantman,  afterward 
known  as  the  American  ship  William,  a  prize  to  the 
British  frigate  Java,  which  was  the  name  of  the  war 
vessel  sweeping  gracefully  down  to  the  Constitution. 
The  Java  was  commanded  by  Captain  Henry  Lam- 
bert. He  was  one  of  the  most  thorough  seamen  who 
ever  handled  a  ship,  and  in  every  other  way  a  man 
of  deservedly  high  reputation.  A  brief  catalogue  of 
his  exploits  shows  that  he  was  an  officer  of  the  first 
quality.  He  was  a  man  of  proven  courage  and  great 
hardihood  as  well,  and  he  had  under  him  one  of  the 
finest  frigates  in  the  British  navy,  originally  the 
French  frigate  Renomm&e,  which  had  been  captured 
by  the  English  almost  as  soon  as  she  had  been 
launched  late  in  the  previous  year.  She  was  a  beauti- 
ful model  and  one  of  the  swiftest  vessels  on  the  sea. 
Her  destination  was  India,  whither  she  was  conveying 
a  lieutenant-general,  recently  appointed  Governor  of 
Bombay,  his  staff,  a  naval  captain,  several  other  sea 
officers  and  a  large  number  of  supernumerary  seamen, 
together  with  supplies  to  outfit  a  ship-of-the-line,  the 
Cornwallis,  and  two  sloops-of-war.  The  total  number 
of  persons  on  board  of  her,  therefore,  was  about  four 
hundred  and  fifty.  She  was  slightly  smaller  and  not 


218     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

quite  so  heavily  armed  as  the  Constitution,  the  propor- 
tion between  them  in  efficiency  being  represented  by 
about  ten  to  nine — not  a  very  material  difference. 

The  two  ships  sailed  toward  each  other  in  the  light 
breeze  all  the  morning,  each  flying  signals  which  the 
other  was  unable  to  comprehend.  Bainbridge  made  his 
preparations  for  the  expected  battle  with  the  greatest 
deliberation.  He  sent  his  men  to  dinner  at  the  proper 
time,  allowed  them  a  comfortable  smoke  afterward, 
and  then  leisurely  beat  to  quarters  and  luffed  up  to  get 
into  range.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  he  plumped 
a  shot  from  a  long  gun  across  the  forefoot  of  the  Java, 
whereupon  the  English  ship  showed  colors  from  every 
masthead,  and  Bainbridge  followed  up  his  introduction 
with  a  broadside,  most  of  the  shot  from  which  cut  the 
water  around  the  English  ship  and  did  no  damage.  The 
broadside  was  returned  with  effect  by  the  Java,  for, 
strange  to  say,  it  was  better  aimed  than  that  of  the 
Constitution,  and  several  of  the  latter's  men  were 
killed  and  wounded.  It  must  have  been  luck  rather 
than  skill,  for  after  that  the  English  gunnery  was  exe- 
crable! The  firing  on  both  sides  now  became  rapid 
and  continuous,  and  both  vessels  sailed  along  in  the 
light  wind  covered  with  clouds  of  smoke.  The  Eng- 
lish had  the  weather-gage,  and  the  Java  was  very 
much  faster  than  the  Constitution  which,  as  she  had 
been  cruising  without  going  into  dry-dock  for  a  long 
time,  had  a  very  foul  bottom  covered  with  weeds. 
Bainbridge,  who  had  been  watching  the  flame-pierced 
cloud  of  smoke  off  to  port,  noticed  that  the  fire  of  the 
enemy  seemed  to  draw  forward,  and  he  was  not  sur- 
prised when  he  saw  the  Java  suddenly  shoot  out  of  the 
smoke,  put  her  helm  hard  up,  and  make  a  broad  sweep 
to  cross  his  bows  and  rake.  He  followed  her  manceu- 


The  Constitution's  Hardest  Fight  219 

vers  with  the  quickness  of  thought  itself,  and  the 
Constitution,  admirably  handled,  wore  swiftly  around 
on  the  other  tack  and  escaped  the  threatened  peril. 

The  Java  still  preserved  the  weather-gage  and  the 
two  ships  sailed  together  as  before,  only  heading  the 
other  way  and  shifting  their  crews  to  the  other  battery. 
The  superior  speed  of  the  Java  enabled  her  to  fore- 
reach  on  the  Constitution  a  second  time,  and  as  soon 
as  he  had  gained  sufficient  distance  Lambert  put  his 
helm  hard  up  again  and  tried  once  more  to  cross  the 
Constitution's  bows.  As  before,  Bainbridge  was  too 
quick  for  him,  and  the  two  ships  repeated  their  pre- 
vious evolution,  wearing  and  heading  in  the  opposite 
direction  again,  shifting  batteries  and  keeping  up  a 
hot  and  continuous  fire.  Lambert  still  maintained  his 
weather-gage  in  spite  of  the  skilful  efforts  of  the  Con- 
stitution to  cut  him  out  of  it.  During  all  this  man- 
oeuvering  whenever  the  guns  bore  they  were  fought 
furiously,  different  batteries  being  engaged  in  alter- 
nation. Whenever  the  Constitution  luffed  up  to  close 
the  Java  attempted  to  rake  her,  but  the  aim  of  her  men 
was  now  so  poor  that  they  made  little  use  of  the  op- 
portunities afforded  them,  and  practically  no  damage 
was  done  the  Constitution.  Finally,  in  desperation  at 
his  inability  to  get  near  the  swift  English  ship,  Bain- 
bridge  determined  to  set  his  foresail  and  mainsail,  the 
action  having  been  fought  hitherto  under  the  topsails 
and  topgallant  sails,  and  boldly  headed  for  the  Eng- 
lish frigate  to  close  and  run  her  aboard.  Necessarily 
in  doing  this  he  presented  his  bow  fair  and  square  to 
her  broadside,  thus  deliberately  taking  a  dangerous 
risk.  It  was  a  superb  opportunity  for  the  Java  to  de- 
liver a  smashing  blow  in  the  face  of  the  Constitution, 
but  the  shot  of  her  broadside,  except  one  bullet  from  a, 


220     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

nine-pounder,  went  wild.  If  the  Java  had  led  down 
on  the  Constitution  that  way  she  would  have  been  cut 
to  pieces. 

The  Constitution  now  drew  to  within  pistol-shot 
distance  of  the  Java's  starboard  quarter,  and  the  fire  of 
her  heavy  battery  at  close  range  was  fearfully  effec- 
tive. Under  the  additional  pressure  of  the  fore  and 
mainsails,  Bainbridge  in  his  turn  now  forged  ahead, 
the  Java  at  the  same  time  losing  her  jib-boom  and 
bowsprit  at  the  cap.  As  the  Constitution  luffed  again 
to  lay  the  Java  aboard,  the  latter  put  her  helm  down 
and  tacked  ship,  when  the  Constitution  immediately 
wore,  the  two  ships  thus  circling  away  from  each 
other.  Owing  to  the  loss  of  her  headsail,  the  Java  paid 
off  very  slowly  and  the  Constitution  crossed  her  stern 
at  a  distance  of  a  cable's  length,  pouring  in  a  tremen- 
dous raking  broadside  the  while.  Both  ships  now  ran 
off  with  the  wind  free,  the  Java  being  handled  beauti- 
fully and  still  preserving  the  valuable  weather-gage. 
Though  exchanging  broadsides  continually,  the  firing 
of  the  American  was  at  last  proving  much  more  disas- 
trous than  that  of  the  Englishman.  The  Java's  rigging 
was  cut  to  pieces  and  her  masts  were  seriously  wounded. 
Unable  to  stand  this  exchange  of  shots  in  which  his 
disadvantage  was  manifest,  Lambert  determined  to 
board.  It  was,  in  this  instance,  the  last  resource  of 
the  British  captain.  Taking  advantage  of  his  weather- 
gage,  he  boldly  put  his  helm  up  and  came  swooping 
down  for  the  Constitution.  His  boarders  swarmed 
forward  ready  to  spring,  Lambert  himself  preparing  to 
lead  the  charge. 

As  he  headed  toward  the  American  he  was  coolly 
raked  again  and  again  by  the  latter's  guns.  The 
carnage  was  fearful,  but  Lambert  resolutely  held 
on — he  had  to  keep  on  or  strike  his  flag.  Before  he 


The  Constitution's  Hardest  Fight  221 

reached  the  Constitution,  by  her  fearful  fire  his  main 
topmast  was  carried  away  at  the  cap  and  the  fore- 
mast just  below  the  cat-harpens.  The  wreck  fell  upon 
the  deck  and  in  the  water,  dragging  the  head  of  the 
Java  away  from  the  Constitution,  which  still  kept  up 
its  merciless  resistless  fire.  As  the  two  ships  neared 
each  other  the  stump  of  the  Java's  bowsprit  caught  for 
a  moment  in  the  mizzen  rigging  of  the  American,  but 
the  frigates  were  not  yet  in  contact  and  it  was  impos- 
sible for  the  English  to  board.  The  American  top- 
men  and  marines  now  poured  a  tremendous  rifle  fire 
into  the  ranks  of  the  British  grouped  forward,  while 
the  carronades  below  kept  smashing  the  English  ship 
in  the  bows.  It  was  an  awful  moment — for  the  Java 
— but  the  ships  finally  separated  and  the  Constitution 
kept  away  to  avoid  being  raked,  as  the  bowsprit  of  the 
Java  swung  slowly  across  her  taffrail,  and  the  Eng- 
lish ship  headed  for  the  south.  The  two  vessels  now 
ran  off  parallel  to  each  other,  the  Java,  marvelous  to 
relate,  still  keeping  the  weather-gage !  The  ships  again 
drew  side  by  side,  but  the  Constitution,  having  lost 
none  of  her  sails  or  spars,  was  .now  the  swifter  and 
she  ranged  ahead  of  the  Java.  Bainbridge  then  wore 
his  ship,  came  up  under  the  quarter,  raking  the  helpless 
Java  again,  shot  past  her  stern,  wore  a  second  time, 
and  at  a  quarter  past  three  came  alongside  and  renewed 
the  conflict.  His  seamanship  was  simply  masterly. 
He  had  been  wounded  early  in  the  action  by  a  musket 
ball  in  the  hip,  but,  though  bleeding  seriously,  he  had 
remained  at  his  post.  Leaning  over  the  wheel,  he  con- 
tinued the  direction  of  the  action.  A  little  later  a 
heavy  shot  from  the  Java  carried  away  the  Constitu- 
tion's wheel  and  drove  one  of  the  copper  bolts  with 
which  it  was  fastened  deep  into  the  thigh  of  the  com- 
mander. It  was  an  excruciatingly  painful  wound,  but 


222     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

he  still  persistently  refused  to  go  below,  so  he  had  the 
wound  dressed  on  deck  and  continued  to  direct  the 
manoeuvers  of  this  wonderful  battle  while  in  the  hands 
of  the  surgeon !  It  was  ah  exhibition  of  supreme  cour- 
age and  resolution.  The  Constitution  thereafter,  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  action,  was  steered  by  relieving 
tackles,  word  being  passed  below  by  a  line  of  midship- 
men! 

About  this  time  Captain  Lambert  was  dreadfully 
and  mortally  wounded  by  a  ball  from  the  American 
maintop  which  shattered  his  breast-bone  and  passed 
through  his  lung.  The  first  lieutenant,  Chads,  took 
command  and,  assisted  by  the  supernumerary  naval 
officers,  continued  the  combat  with  unabated  resolution. 
The  wreck  of  the  masts  of  the  Java,  which  had  not  yet 
been  cut  away,  hung  over  her  starboard  side  and  caught 
fire  with  almost  every  discharge  of  the  battery.  Chads 
himself  was  severely  wounded,  but  remained  in  com- 
mand. The  British  fought  on  with  desperate  courage 
and  heroically  continued  their  now  hapless  battle.  The 
vessels  were  almost  in  contact  and  the  Americans 
deliberately  knocked  the  remaining  spars  out  of  the 
helpless  English  frigate.  The  mizzenmast  was  cut 
away,,  the  stump  of  the  foremast  cut  down  further  still, 
and  all  her  guns  were  silenced.  At  five  minutes  after 
four  the  Constitution,  under  the  impression  that  the 
Java  had  struck,  as  no  flag  was  flying,  concluded  that 
the  battle  was  ended.  Bainbridge  drew  off,  therefore, 
in  accordance  with  the  common  practice  of  the  Ameri- 
cans after  action  when  alone  on  seas  swarming  with 
British  cruisers,  to  re-reeve  the  cut  gear  and  make  nec- 
essary repairs.  An  hour  after,  fit  for  another  battle,  she 
stood  toward  the  old  enemy.  The  English  had  pltick- 
ily  hoisted  an  ensign,  but  as  the  Constitution,  in  grim 
silence,  crossed  the  forefoot  of  the  helpless,  rolling, 


g   u 

C4      — 


The  Constitution's  Hardest  Fight  223 

dismasted  hulk  of  the  Java,  deliberately  taking  a  posi- 
tion in  which  she  could  have  raked  her  to  pieces,  the 
flag  of  the  latter  was  struck. 

There  was  not  a  single  spar  left  standing  except  the 
stump  of  the  mainmast  and  the  stump  of  the  bowsprit. 
At  5.25  P.M.  Lieutenant  Parker  boarded  the  frigate 
and  received  the  surrender.  The  actual  fighting  time, 
including  the  manceuvering,  had  been  about  an  hour 
and  forty  minutes,  the  action  having  been  protracted 
by  the  brilliant  seamanship  of  both  captains.  Lambert 
had  never  lost  the  weather-gage  until  the  end  of  the 
battle,  he  had  made  the  best  possible  use  of  his  superior 
speed  and  handiness,  and  it  was  only  the  most  consum- 
mate ability  on  the  part  of  Bainbridge  which  had 
saved  the  Constitution  from  being  raked  again  and 
again.  The  loss  on  the  Java  was  sixty  killed  and  one 
hundred  and  two  wounded,  on  the  Constitution  twelve 
were  killed  and  twenty-two  wounded,  the  heaviest  loss 
she  ever  sustained  in  action.  The  Constitution  went 
into  the  action  with  her  royal  yards  across,  and  came 
out  of  it  with  everything  standing,  while  the  Java  had 
been  cut  to  pieces ! 

Some  little  incidents  of  the  battle  are  worth  record- 
ing. Two  brothers  named  Cheever  were  among  the 
crew  of  the  Constitution.  One  of  them  was  killed 
early  in  the  fight,  the  other  mortally  wounded  at  the 
close.  He  was  lying  upon  the  deck  when  he  was  told 
that  the  other  ship  had  struck.  In  spite  of  his  desperate 
wound  he  immediately  lifted  himself  up  and  gave  three 
cheers,  expiring  with  the  last  cheer.  On  the  Java 
were  two  boys,  twin  brothers,  midshipmen  on  their  first 
cruise.  They  were  both  killed,  the  last  one  begging 
that  he  might  die  under  the  English  flag,  which  was 
spread  over  him  by  his  kind-hearted  conquerors. 

Bainbridge's  treatment  of  his  prisoners  was  every- 


224     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

thing  which  could  be  expected  from  so  high-minded 
and  courteous  a  gentleman,  and  Lieutenant-General 
Hislop,  the  captured  governor  aforesaid,  presented  him 
with  a  sword  in  token  of  gratitude  for  his  kind- 
ness. Owing  to  the  shattered  condition  of  the  Java 
and  their  great  distance  from  the  United  States,  Bain- 
bridge  determined  to  blow  her  up.  The  unfortunate 
Lambert,  who  had  been  delirious  most  of  the  time 
since  receiving  his  frightful  wound,  muttering  and 
moaning  over  the  loss  of  his  ship,  which  evidently 
preyed  upon  his  mind,  was  removed  with  the  greatest 
care  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  sea  to  the  Constitution, 
the  whole  ship's  company  looking  on  in  strained  anx- 
iety till  the  removal  was  affected.  Bainbridge,  being 
informed  that  the  English  captain  was  enjoying  a  lucid 
moment  or  two,  immediately  caused  himself  to  be  car- 
ried by  two  of  his  officers,  his  wound  preventing  him 
from  walking,  to  the  cot  of  the  dying  Lambert  which 
had  been  placed  upon  the  quarter-deck.  When  he 
reached  his  whilom  enemy  he  gave  his  sword  back  to 
Lambert,  laying  it  on  the  cot  with  the  hilt  by  the  dying 
man's  nerveless  hand.  Lambert  was  so  weak  that  he 
could  only  look  his  gratitude.  The  wounded  Ameri- 
can supported  in  the  arms  of  his  officers,  and  the  dying 
Englishman  on  the  cot  on  the  grim,  blood-stained  deck 
of  the  war-ship,  make  one  of  the  sweet  pictures  of 
American  history,  and  the  mind  loves  to  dwell  upon 
this  tender  action  of  the  great-hearted  and  heroic  Bain- 
bridge.  It  seems  to  me,  that  in  such  little  occasions  as 
this,  we  may  found  our  hope  that  war  and  its  horrors 
will  some  day  vanish  from  among  the  children  of  men. 
After  the  war  was  over  some  English  nautical  ex- 
perts were  inspecting  the  Constitution.  "Well,"  said 
one  them  at  the  close  of  his  visit,  "your  ship  seems  to 


The  Constitution's  Hardest  Fight  225 

be  absolutely  perfect,  but  as  I  must  make  some  criti- 
cism, I  will  say  that  you  have  a  very  ugly  wheel  for 
so  beautiful  a  vessel."  "Yes,"  said  the  American  offi- 
cer to  whom  he  was  speaking,  "it  is  ugly.  We  lost  our 
wheel  in  the  action  with  the  Java  and,  after  the  battle 
was  over,  we  replaced  it  with  hers,  and  somehow  we 
have  never  cared  to  change  it !" 

From  the  point  of  view  of  seamanship,  tactics  and 
gunnery,  this  battle  was  one  of  the  finest  ever  fought. 
Lambert,  however,  handled  his  ship  quite  as  brilliantly 
as  Bainbridge  had  done,  and  the  action  was  decided 
by  the  superior  gunnery  of  the  American.  I  do  not 
suppose  that  the  Americans  were  any  better  gunners 
naturally  than  the  British.  Both  ships  had  been  out 
about  the  same  time,  but  during  five  weeks  the  Java's 
men  had  never  engaged  in  a  single  target  practice, 
while  the  Americans  were  frequently  given  an  oppor- 
tunity for  perfecting  themselves  in  that  necessary  req- 
uisite of  a  successful  man-o'-war's-tman ;  in  fact  the 
English  had  only  fired  six  blank  broadsides  in  the 
whole  of  their  cruise,  had  little  or  no  drill,  other  than 
the  ordinary  routine  of  the  ship,  while  the  Americans 
were  exercised  and  drilled  morning,  noon  and  night! 
Drill,  discipline,  gun  practice  told  then  as  it  told  in  our 
recent  war,  and  as  it  will  tell  in  other  wars  in  the  fu- 
ture ;  aye,  as  it  tells  even  in  the  daily  affairs  of  so-called 
peaceful  life. 

No  man  should  stand  higher  than  Bainbridge  in  our 
naval  history.  I  look  upon  him  possibly  more  than 
any  other  man  as  the  "father"  of  the  American  navy. 
Without  his  determined  pleading  there  would  have 
been  no  naval  war  in  1812  and  England  would  still  be 
the  undisputed  mistress  of  the  sea. 


THE  NIAGARA  CAMPAIGN 


I.    CHIPPEWA 

FOR  fierce,  hard,  desperate  fighting,  no  army  which  has 
ever  upheld  the  prestige  of  American  arms,  was  ever 
more  distinguished  than  that  commanded  by  Major- 
General  Jacob  Brown,  in  the  year  1814,  when  he 
made  his  famous  campaign  on  the  Canadian  side  of 
the  Niagara  River,  sometimes  called  the  Niagara  cam- 
paign. Nothing  particular  eventuated  from  that  cam- 
paign— it  had  no  result  except  to  discourage  the 
British,  give  them  a  more  healthy  respect  for  the  Amer- 
ican regular  and  to  encourage  the  Americans  corres- 
pondingly— but  while  it  was  in  progress  it  was  marked 
by  several  sanguinary  and  desperate  battles,  in  which 
were  displayed  as  cool  courage,  as  pretty  fighting  and 
as  brilliant  tactics,  as  were  ever  exhibited  upon  a  bat- 
tle field.  General  Brown  seems  to  have  been  a  very 
capable  and  determined  fighter ;  although  his  glory  has 
been  almost  obscured  by  the  more  brilliant  reputation 
gained  by  Winfield  Scott,  his  principal  brigadier,  he 
deserves  to  be  held  in  high  remembrance  by  his  coun- 
trymen as  a  sturdy,  courageous  and  successful  soldier. 
The  land  engagements  during  the  war  prior  to  this 
campaign  had  not  reflected  any  great  credit  upon  either 

226 


The  Niagara  Campaign  227 

British  or  American  combatants.  The  armies  on  both 
sides  were  inferior  in  quality,  and  the  leadership  was 
poor ;  if  anything  the  honors  were  with  the  British. 

General  Scott,  who  had  shown  his  daring  and  capac- 
ity on  several  occasions,  in  conjunction  with  General 
Brown,  who  had  also  exhibited  great  gallantry  and 
skill,  had  seen  that  the  pressing  needs  of  their  country- 
men were  more  thorough  drill,  more  rigid  discipline 
and  some  adequate  teaching  in  military  tactics,  of 
which  they  were  mainly  ignorant.  During  the  win- 
ter and  spring  of  1814  they  had  instructed  the  men 
of  the  little  army  of  regulars  they  commanded  in  the 
most  thorough  manner ;  the  drills  occupying  long  hours 
daily,  the  men  grumbled  and  rebelled  as  usual,  as  much 
as  they  dared,  until  they  got  in  action  and  saw  the 
value  of  it  all.  It  is  said  that  there  was  but  one  book  on 
military  tactics,  a  copy  of  a  French  work,  in  the  army ; 
they  made  good  use  of  it,  however,  for  Scott  translated 
it  and  established  a  regular  school  of  instruction  for  the 
higher  officers,  who  communicated  what  they  learned 
to  their  subordinates,  and  they  in  turn  to  the  men. 
The  labors  of  them  all  were  arduous  and  unceasing 
and,  as  the  summer  dawned,  the  painstaking  and  hard 
working  commanders  were  conscious  that  they  had  an 
army  under  their  direction  at  last.  They  needed  one;  the 
British  had  also  waked  up  to  the  situation  and  larger 
and  better  forces,  veterans  of  Wellington's  command, 
had  at  last  been  despatched  to  this  country  to  end 
matters. 

General  Brown  planned  a  campaign  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Niagara  River  which  he  hoped  would  result  in 
the  seizure  of  all  the  British  posts  in  the  peninsula  be- 
tween Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  after  which  he  trusted 
that,  with  the  cooperation  of  Commodore  Chauncey, 


228     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

who  commanded  the  naval  forces  on  the  lakes,  he  might 
successfully  possess  himself  of  Canada,  which  was  the 
dream  of  the  American  soldier  in  this  war.  His  little 
force  consisted  of  two  -small  brigades  of  regular  sol- 
diers of  three  regiments  each,  under  the  command 
of  Brigadier-Generals  Winfield  Scott  and  Eleazer  W. 
Ripley,  each  numbering  about  fifteen  hundred  men; 
in  addition  he  had  another  brigade  of  about  one  thou- 
sand Pennsylvania  and  New  York  militia  under 
Brigadier-General  Peter  B.  Porter.  There  was 
also  a  small  train  of  artillery  comprising  Ritchie's 
and  Towson's  batteries  under  Major  Hindman,  and 
a  squadron  of  cavalry,  in  all  but  little  more  than 
four  thousand  men  of  all  arms.  It  was  a  compact, 
handy,  well-officered,  well-drilled,  little  force.  Early 
in  the  morning  of  July  3,  1814,  the  army  which  had 
assembled  at  Buffalo  and  Black  Rock,  began  to  cross 
the  Niagara  River. 

The  English  had  begun  the  erection  of  a  small  work 
called  Fort  Erie  opposite  Buffalo;  it  was  then  garri- 
soned by  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  Scott's  brigade 
crossed  above,  and  Ripley's  below  it,  and  the  fort, 
which  was  immediately  invested,  surrendered  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  without  making  much  of 
a  defense.  The  main  body  of  the  British  forces  in 
the  peninsula,  numbering  then  about  three  thousand 
men,  was  encamped  at  Chippewa,  a  village  situated 
near  the  great  falls,  about  sixteen  miles  above  Fort 
Erie.  Major-General  Riall,  who  commanded  it,  was  an 
Irishman  of  no  great  ability  and  of  slender  military 
capacity,  but  of  very  large  means,  who  had  attained 
his  rank  mainly  through  the  pernicious  purchase  sys- 
tem. He  was  a  man  of  undoubted  courage,  but  as  a 
commander  he  was  decidedly  inferior — another  wood- 
en pole  in  a  cocked  hat! 


The  Niagara  Campaign  229 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  of  July,  the  American 
army  was  put  in  motion.  During  the  advance  of  fif- 
teen miles  up  the  river,  which  was  led  by  Scott's 
brigade,  there  was  constant  and  heavy  skirmishing 
with  Pearson's  brigade  which  Riall  had  sent  down  to 
relieve  the  fort,  and  which  had  arrived  too  late.  The 
English  were  astonished  at  the  skill  and  the  courage 
of  the  American  advance  until,  as  they  said,  they  re- 
membered what  day  it  was — they  were  to  find  out  soon 
that  all  days  were  alike  to  that  little  army  when  it  came 
to  fighting!  Late  in  the  evening  Scott's  brigade  had 
reached  a  little  stream  called  the  Chippewa  River, 
behind  which  Riall's  camp  had  been  previously  estab- 
lished. Brown,  with  Ripley's  brigade  and  Porter's 
volunteers  and  the  Indian  auxiliaries  under  Red  Jack- 
et, was  some  miles  in  the  rear.  To  attack  the  strong 
Avorks  of  the  camp  would  be  impossible,  so  the  pur- 
suit was  given  over  and  Scott's  brigade  moved  back 
to  the  south  bank  of  a  little  brook  called  Street's 
Creek,  where  it  pitched  its  tents  for  the  night.  Ripley's 
brigade  was  some  miles  further  back,  and  Porter's 
militia  lay  refused  on  Scott's  left  flank. 

On  the  morning  of  July  fifth  Porter  was  instructed 
to  advance  on  the  enemy's  right,  with  orders  to  push 
through  the  wood  beyond  Scott's  position  to  try  to 
drive  back  parties  of  English  scouts  and  Indians  who 
would  harass  the  American  advance.  The  duty  was 
gallantly  performed  until  early  in  the  afternoon,  when 
the  skirmishers  were  met  by  the  enemy  advancing  in 
force.  Brown,  who  had  been  carefully  observing  the 
scene  from  a  distant  and  commanding  hill,  saw  an  im- 
mense cloud  of  dust  rising  over  the  plain  between  the 
Chippewa  River  and  Street's  Creek.  Rapid  firing  ap- 
prised him  that  Porter  was  heavily  engaged.  He  at 
once  sent  orders  to  Ripley  to  advance  to  the  support 


230     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

of  the  first  brigade  and  then  galloped  forward  to 
Scott's  position.  That  gallant  officer  was  entirely  ig- 
norant of  the  close  proximity  of  the  British,  and  had 
just  made  arrangements  to  lead  his  men  across  the 
bridge  over  the  creek  in  order  to  have  a  dress  parade 
on  the  open  plain  before  them!  He  could  hardly 
believe  Brown's  statement  that  his  parade  bade  fair  to 
become  a  battle.  However,  he  welcomed  the  opportu- 
nity with  alacrity,  and  made  all  speed  to  cross  the 
creek. 

Porter,  after  making  a  gallant  defense  against  the 
whole  British  army  led  by  Riall  in  person,  had  at  last 
fallen  back.  As  the  British  came  out  of  the  wood 
they  discovered  Scott's  brigade  marching  across  the 
bridge.  The  American  army  was  uniformed  in  gray. 
There  had  been  a  great  scarcity  of  blue  cloth  and  the 
quartermaster  at  Buffalo  offered  to  provide  gray,  of 
which  he  had  a  large  supply  on  hand ;  Brown  and 
Scott  had  accepted  his  offer  and  consequently  the  us- 
ual blue  uniform  was  mainly  conspicuous  by  its  ab- 
sence. In  honor  of  this  campaign,  by  the  way,  the 
memory  of  the  gray  uniform  has  been  perpetuated  in 
the  dress  of  the  West  Point  Cadets,  which  has  since 
that  time  been  of  the  same  gray  color.  Scott  was  a 
great  stickler  for  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  glori- 
ous war — he  used  to  be  called  "Old  Fuss  and  Feathers" 
by  the  rank  and  file — and,  in  fact,  he  and  his  officers 
had  agreed  to  make  this  campaign  in  full  fig — cocked 
hat,  rosettes,  epaulets,  sashes,  and  so  on !  Consequent- 
ly when  the  red-coated  British  veterans  saw  the  gray- 
coated,  full  dressed  American  regulars  advancing, 
Riall  remarked  that  they  were  nothing  but  Buffalo 
militia,  and  that  they  would  have  an  easy  victory !  He 
opened  fire  upon  the  Americans  at  once  from  his  bat- 


u 

"o  J 

<L>  s 

~  4S 

<->  _ 

«  «! 


The  Niagara  Campaign  231 

tery  of  nine  guns  posted  on  the  high  road;  Towson, 
opposite  him  on  the  right,  returned  the  fire  with  his 
small  battery  of  three  guns,  which  he  used  with  great 
effect.  The  Americans  in  the  face  of  the  British  fire 
crossed  the  bridge  and  deployed  with  the  steadiness  of 
veterans,  undeceiving  Riall  at  once  as  to  their  char- 
acter. 

Scott  detached  Major  Jessup  in  command  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  regiment,  to  make  a  flank  movement 
through  the  woods,  while  he  sent  the  rest  of  his  men 
straight  for  the  enemy.  Jessup  executed  his  movement 
with  alacrity  and  skill,  and  while  the  engagement  was 
being  hotly  contested  in  the  front,  he  fell  upon  the  right 
flank  of  the  British.  Meanwhile  Colonel  Leavenworth 
had  massed  upon  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy,  and  assist- 
ed by  Towson  executed  a  furious  charge  upon  it.  These 
attacks  were  stubbornly  resisted  for  a  time,  especially 
on  the  right  flank  where  Jessup  was.  The  men  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  regiment  had  become  somewhat  disor- 
ganized through  the  dash  and  impetuosity  of  their  wild 
charge,  and  as  the  British  advanced  to  deliver  a  coun- 
tercharge, Jessup  deliberately  re-formed  the  regiment 
under  fire,  bringing  them  to  a  support  arms  the  while. 
The  discipline  of  his  detachment  was  very  fine,  and 
their  gallantry  and  steadiness  remarkable.  When  he 
had  perfected  his  alignment  to  his  entire  satisfaction, 
he  sent  them  forward  again  with  the  bayonet. 

The  right  of  the  British  was  completely  shattered, 
and  separated  from  the  center  by  a  wide  gap.  At  this 
juncture  the  quick  eye  of  Scott  saw  his  opportunity; 
riding  down  to  his  remaining  regiment,  the  Eleventh, 
under  the  gallant  McNeill — the  other  two  being  hotly 
engaged  on  either  flank — he  shouted  in  a  voice  heard 
plainly  by  the  men  above  the  roar  of  the  battle :  "The 


232     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

enemy  say  we  are  good  at  long  shot  but  cannot  stand 
the  cold  iron !  I  call  upon  the  Eleventh  instantly  to  give 
the  lie  to  that  slander !  Charge!"  Officers  in  action  do 
not  usually  make  speeches  of  that  kind,  but  it  was  in- 
tensely like  Scott  to  have  done  so.  At  any  rate,  the 
Eleventh,  led  by  Scott  and  McNeill  in  person,  rushed 
forward  into  the  gap  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  that 
charge  practically  ended  the  fight.  The  British  were 
routed  on  every  hand  and  fled  with  all  speed  back  to 
their  encampment  and  entrenchments  across  the  Chip- 
pewa.  Scott  moved  up  to  attack  but  found  the  position 
too  strong  to  be  carried  by  his  shattered  regiments. 
Ripley's  brigade  did  not  reach  the  field  in  time  to  take 
any  effective  part  in  the  battle.  While  Scott  waited 
for  the  rest  of  the  army  to  assemble,  the  British  aban- 
doned their  position  during  the  night,  leaving  a  large 
portion  of  their  stores  and  equipage,  and  fled  precipi- 
tately to  the  northwest,  to  Burlington  Heights  at  the 
western  end  of  Lake  Ontario. 

In  this  sharp  action,  known  as  the  Battle  of  Chip- 
pewa,  the  number  of  British  engaged  was  about  twen- 
ty-two hundred,  as  opposed  to  an  American  force 
numbering  nineteen  hundred.  The  American  loss  in 
killed,  wounded  and  missing,  was  three  hundred  and 
twenty-seven,  that  of  the  British  five  hundred  and 
seven.  Scott  had  attacked  and  defeated  a  superior 
force  upon  whom  he  had  inflicted  much  greater  loss 
than  his  own.  The  battle  had  been  fought  on  an  open 
plain  and  the  brilliant  tactics  of  the  Americans  assured 
the  British  that  there  was  a  soldier  in  command. 
Brown  now  pushed  forward  for  Lake  George  at  the 
head  of  the  river,  intending  to  capture  it,  and  then 
move  on  Burlington  and  thence  to  Upper  Canada,  but 
Chauncey,  who  was  the  most  inefficient  of  all  the  Amer- 


The  Niagara  Campaign  233 

ican  naval  commanders  in  this  war,  was  ill,  and  it  never 
seemed  to  have  occurred  to  him  that  anybody  else  could 
have  commanded  his  fleet,  so  he  did  nothing.  Mean- 
while, the  British  were  reinforced  byLieutenant-General 
Sir  Gordon  Drummond,  with  a  large  body  of  men, 
bringing  the  total  of  their  army  up  to  nearly  five  thou- 
sand men,  including  some  of  the  best  regiments  in  their 
service,  the  One  Hundredth,  the  Royal  Scots,  the 
King's  Own,  etc. ;  some,  at  least,  of  which  had  been 
with  the  redoubtable  Wellington. 


II.    LUNDY  S   LANE 

BROWN  thereupon  moved  back  to  Chippewa,  and 
Drummond  and  Riall  advanced  down  the  river. 
Scouts  had  reported  that  a  large  body  of  British  had 
been  detached  to  cross  the  river  at  Queenstown  and 
menace  the  American  supply  depot  on  the  other  side. 
Brown  was  in  a  quandary  on  the  receipt  of  this  news. 
He  dared  not  divide  his  force  in  the  face  of  an  enemy 
who  already  outnumbered  him,  neither  could  he  afford 
to  lose  his  supplies,  and  to  retreat  across  the  river 
would  be  to  give  up  the  whole  campaign.  He  deter- 
mined wisely,  therefore,  in  the  face  of  these  three  pos- 
sibilities, to  move  up  to  attack  the  main  force  of  the 
British  in  front  of  him.  If  they  had  detached  an  ex- 
pedition, they  would  be  weakened  thereby  and  he  might 
defeat  them,  or  cause  the  recall  of  the  expedition,  or 
prevent  it — if  it  had  not  started — anyway,  it  was  good, 
bold  tactics  to  attack.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  July, 
therefore,  he  ordered  his  plucky  little  army  to  advance. 
The  first  brigade  under  Scott,  now  comprising  the 
regiments  of  Colonel  Hugh  Brady,  the  Twenty-second ; 


234     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Majors  Jessup,  the  Twenty-fifth;  Leavenworth,  the 
Ninth;  and  McNeill,  the  Eleventh;  Towson's  artillery 
and  Harris'  cavalry,  numbering  in  all  about  thirteen 
hundred  men,  took  the  lead.  About  five  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  the  advance  under  Colonel  Brady  with  the 
Twenty-second  infantry,  discovered  the  forward  divi- 
sion of  the  enemy  drawn  up  in  force  at  a  place  called 
Lundy's  Lane. 

The  rumors  which  had  reached  Brown  had  not 
been  correct.  The  whole  British  army  was  still  on  the 
same  side  of  the  river.  The  position  they  had  taken 
was  an  exceedingly  strong  one;  this  portion  of  the 
army,  numbering  about  two  thousand  men,  had  been 
drawn  up  in  a  crescent  shaped  line  with  a  heavy  bat- 
tery of  artillery  in  the  center,  upon  a  little  hill,  which 
commanded  the  whole  field.  To  retreat  was  to  be 
defeated,  to  stand  still  would  mean  destruction,  there 
was  but  one  thing  to  be  done.  Scott  despatched  mes- 
sengers post-haste  to  Brown  imploring  reinforcements 
and  with  the  instinct  of  a  true  soldier,  at  once  boldly 
moved  his  little  force  forward  to  the  attack.  Repeating 
his  tactics  of  Chippewa,  he  sent  a  flanking  party  under 
the  command  of  Brady  (after  Scott  the  ranking  offi- 
cer of  the  brigade)  and  Jessup,  to  the  open  ground  on 
the  British  left,  and  forming  up  the  remainder  of  his 
brigade  in  the  thick  woods,  desperately  charged  the 
center.  It  was  an  amazing  manoeuver ;  over  two  thou- 
sand men  in  a  chosen  position,  defended  with  artillery, 
were  charged  in  the  open  by  less  than  one  thousand, 
while  three  hundred  were  detached  for  a  flank  attack ! 

The  shock  of  the  battle  was  terrific.  The  roar  of 
the  mighty  falls  near  by  mingled  in  deep  undertones 
with  the  crash  of  the  artillery  and  the  rattle  of  the 
small  arms.  Again  and  again  the  Americans  were  led 


The  Niagara  Campaign  235 

forward;  Brady  and  Jessup  finally  established  them- 
selves on  the  flank  and  Jessup  actually  got  in  the  rear 
of  the  enemy,  where  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  capture 
General  Riall  himself,  who  was  in  command  of  the  de- 
fense. The  bold  detachment  made  good  its  retreat 
thereafter  in  the  face  of  reinforcements,  and  rejoined 
Scott's  thin  straggling  line.  When  they  reached  the 
center  they  were  immediately  sent  forward  in  the 
charge.  Colonel  Brady,  Majors  Jessup  and  McNeill 
were  desperately  wounded,  Brady  twice.  All  the  offi- 
cers of  the  three  regiments  which  they  commanded, 
the  Twenty-second,  the  Twenty-fifth  and  the  Eleventh, 
except  two  or  three,  were  killed  or  wounded.  There 
was  not  a  horse  left  in  the  brigade,  two  had  been  killed 
under  Colonel  Brady,  before  he  was  wounded.1  These 
regiments,  somewhat  disorganized  by  the  hot  firing 
they  had  received,  and  the  large  numbers  killed  and 
wounded,  rallied  in  the  rear  of  Leavenworth's  battalion 
of  the  Ninth,  which  still  preserved  its  integrity,  and  the 
whole  mass  actually  moved  forward  for  another 
charge ! 

Fortunately  Brown,  with  the  head  of  Ripley's  brig- 
ade, now  galloped  on  the  field.  It  was  high  time  for 
him  to  appear,  he  was  sorely  needed.  As  fast  as  the 
men  of  Ripley's  brigade,  who  had  been  marching  des- 
perately for  the  last  hour  upon  the  dead  run,  arrived, 
they  were  deployed  for  attack.  Scott's  exhausted,  dec- 
imated men  were  collected  to  form  a  reserve.  Porter 
soon  joined  Ripley.  With  first-class  military  instinct 
Brown  at  once  discovered  that  the  battery  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  British  line  was  the  key  to  their  position.  He 
lost  no  time  in  reflection;  calling  up  Colonel  Miller, 

1  Colonel,  afterward  Major-General,  Hugh  Brady  was  a 
great-great-uncle  of  the  writer. 


236     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

of  the  famous  Twenty-first,  he  pointed  it  out  and  asked 
him  if  he  would  storm  the  hill  and  take  the  battery  with 
his  regiment.  "I  will  try,  sir,"  replied  the  intrepid  sol- 
dier. The  First  Regiment,  under  Colonel  Nicholas,  was 
ordered  to  support  him.  It  was  now  eight  o'clock  at 
night  and  quite  dark,  the  waning  moon,  veiled  under 
heavy  clouds  of  smoke  from  the  continuous  discharges, 
giving  but  little  light  and  the  armies  were  actually 
righting  in  thick  darkness. 

Miller  and  his  men  crept  up  the  hill  on  their  hands 
and  knees  until,  about  twenty  yards  from  the  battery, 
they  reached  a  rail  fence  undiscovered.  They  could 
see  the  British  guns  plainly  by  the  light  of  the  burning 
linstocks  which  the  cannoneers  held  in  their  hands 
ready  to  discharge  the  loaded  pieces.  Thrusting  their 
muskets  through  the  fence  rails  the  Americans  took 
careful  aim  and  poured  in  a  volley  which  killed  or 
wounded  many  of  the  surprised  gunners.  They  then 
rushed  up  the  hill,  cleared  its  top  with  the  bayonet  and 
found  themselves  in  possession!  The  loaded  guns 
were  swung  about  instantly  and  poured  forth  their 
murderous  discharges  upon  the  retreating  British. 
The  First  Regiment,  which  had  been  met  by  a  smart 
fire  and  had  wavered,  now  recovered  its  ground  and 
reinforced  the  Twenty-first  on  the  hill.  The  men  of 
Miller's  regiment  after  that  wore  upon  the  buttons  of 
their  coats  his  famous  words,  "I  will  try,  sir !" 

Lieutenant-General  Drummond  now  arrived  with 
heavy  reinforcements  for  the  British  and  assumed  com- 
mand. He  immediately  formed  his  fresh  men  in  the 
thick  darkness  in  the  valley  below  and  advanced  to 
attack  the  hill,  which  Brown  had  meanwhile  strongly 
reinforced.  Five  separate  assaults  were  delivered  upon 
this  hill,  the  attacks  being  made  with  the  greatest  de- 


>-)    •£ 


jy    .5 


The  Niagara  Campaign  237 

termination.  They  were  repulsed  in  each  instance 
with  equal  courage.  Men  aimed  at  the  flashes  of  light 
from  the  opposing  line,  and  when  their  pieces  were  dis- 
charged, fought  in  the  night,  hand  to  hand,  with  the 
bayonet  and  the  sword.  Late  that  night  Scott's  brig- 
ade, which  he  had  rapidly  got  into  shape  again,  not  yet 
having  had  enough  of  it,  executed  a  bayonet  charge  up 
Lundy's  Lane.  In  the  height  of  the  charge  Scott  was 
desperately  wounded  in  two  places,  his  shoulder  being 
shattered  by  a  grape  shot.  At  the  same  moment 
Brown  had  ordered  an  advance  down  the  hill,  and 
while  leading  it  received  also  a  second  wound.  In 
spite  of  a  severe  wound  which  he  had  received  early  in 
the  fight,  he  had  persisted  in  continuing  the  command 
of  the  field.  Faint  from  the  loss  of  blood  he  had  to 
retire  and  the  command  now  devolved  upon  General 
Ripley. 

It  was  now  about  midnight.  The  British  had  com- 
pletely abandoned  the  field.  The  Americans  were  fa- 
tigued and  exhausted  by  their  desperate  struggle. 
There  was  no  water  to  be  had  on  the  top  of  the  hill, 
and  so  Ripley,  most  unaccountably,  ordered  a  retreat. 
The  Americans  withdrew,  leaving  the  British  guns 
which  they  had  captured  and  so  gallantly  defended 
to  remain  alone  upon  the  hill  because  there  were  no 
horses,  all  of  them  having  been  killed,  with  which  to 
bring  them  off!  Miller's  men,  who  had  captured  the 
hill,  dragged  away  one  gun  by  hand — the  only 
trophy  of  their  exploit.  In  the  morning  when  Brown, 
the  wounded  commander,  heard  of  the  withdrawal  of 
the  army  and  the  abandonment  of  the  hard-won  posi- 
tion, he  was  furious  with  indignation.  He  at  once 
ordered  an  advance,  but  the  British  had  re-occupied 
their  lines  in  greater  force,  and  as  Ripley  was  no  great 


238     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

offensive  fighter,  though  a  man  of  high  personal  cour- 
age, the  victorious  army  reluctantly  withdrew.  The 
Americans  had,  with  twenty-five  hundred  men,  en- 
gaged over  three  thousand  five  hundred  British.  They 
had  taken  a  strong  position,  held  it  and  driven  the 
enemy  from  the  field.  Scott's  dashing  tactics  and 
the  desperate  resolution  of  his  men  who  had  attacked 
immediately  under  his  leadership,  and  had  held  the 
enemy  in  play  until  Brown  could  bring  up  his  supports, 
awakened  admiration  on  every  hand.  The  attacks  of 
the  Americans  had  been  so  determined  that  the  English 
artillerists  had  been  bayoneted  while  loading  their 
guns.  The  American  batteries  were  advanced  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  British.  Even  the  English  histor- 
ians acknowledge  the  superior  gallantry  and  courage 
of  their  foes,  saying  that  it  would  have  done  honor  to 
any  service.  Each  side  lost  about  nine  hundred  men, 
or  about  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  total  force  engaged, 
or  three  times  as  great  a  proportion  as  has  usually  ob- 
tained in  the  greater  battles  of  later  wars. 


III.   THE    SIEGE    OF    FORT    ERIE 

AFTER  the  battle  the  Americans  withdrew  in  good 
order  to  Fort  Erie,  followed  leisurely  at  a  safe  distance 
by  the  superior  forces  of  the  British.  General  Gaines, 
in  the  absence  of  Scott  and  Brown — the  life  of  the 
former  being  despaired  of,  and  the  latter  seriously 
wounded — now  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the 
American  position.  Entrenchments  were  at  once 
thrown  up,  forming  a  long,  narrow  enclosure,  with 
Fort  Erie,  a  star-pointed,  bastioned  fort  at  the  right 
upper  corner,  Fort  Douglass  near  the  lake  to  the 


The  Niagara  Campaign  239 

right,  and  a  long  line  of  entrenchments  terminating 
in  Fort  Towson  on  the  lake  to  the  left.  The  works 
were  well-constructed,  provided  with  ditches  and  abat- 
tis.  Both  armies  were  soon  reinforced,  bringing  the 
British  numbers  to  over  four  thousand,  the  American 
to  little  less  than  three  thousand. 

Drummond  regularly  laid  siege  to  the  fort,  mean- 
while sending  Colonel  Tucker  with  five  hundred  British 
regulars  across  the  river  to  destroy  the  batteries  at 
Black  Rock.  The  expedition  was  badly  defeated  by 
three  hundred  American  regulars  fighting  behind 
strong  entrenchments  thrown  up  on  the  bank  of  a 
creek,  and  withdrew  to  the  main  army  again.  On  the 
thirteenth  of  August,  the  British  batteries  being  then 
completed,  a  furious  cannonade  of  the  American  works 
was  begun  which  continued  without  intermission  until 
the  night  of  the  fifteenth,  when  an  attack  in  force  was 
delivered  upon  the  works. 

The  British  came  forward  in  three  heavy  columns 
of  one  thousand  men  each.  One  column  attacked 
Towson's  battery  on  Snake  Hill  on  the  left.  The 
American  guns  there  were  so  well  served  that  they 
poured  out  a  continuous  sheet  of  flame  and  shot 
through  the  black  night.  The  men  called  the  place 
"Towson's  light-house."  Though  they  finally  reached 
the  parapet  there  and  crossed  bayonets,  the  assailants 
were  ultimately  repulsed  with  great  slaughter.  The 
attack  on  Fort  Douglass  on  the  right,  which  was  met 
with  equal  determination,  was  equally  unfortunate. 
The  second  column,  however,  under  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Drummond,  brother  of  the  general-in-chief,  had 
succeeded  in  entering  the  northeast  bastion  of  Fort 
Erie.  The  men  struggled  through  the  ditch,  some 
men  from  the  defeated  column  from  Fort  Douglass 


240     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

reinforced  them,  and  they  planted  their  scaling  ladders 
on  the  fort  and  drove  out  the  Americans  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet — indeed,  during  the  whole  of  this  des- 
perate assault,  the  English  did  not  once  fire  their  mus- 
kets; by  the  specific  orders  of  their  commander,  the 
flints  had  been  removed  from  the  guns,  and  they 
relied  entirely  upon  the  secret  and  sudden  use  of  the 
bayonet,  the  watchword  was  "cold  steel"  and  they 
used  it  effectively. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Drummond  was  the  first  man  to 
enter  the  fort.  The  Americans  in  the  bastion  made  a 
heroic  resistance,  but  they  were  all  immediately  killed 
or  wounded.  No  captures  were  made  or  allowed. 
Lieutenant  Macdonough,  in  command  of  the  position, 
being  wounded  and  helpless,  asked  for  quarter.  Drum- 
mond ruthlessly  shot  him  down.  His  word  had  been 
"Give  no  quarter  to  the  damned  Yankees !"  and  he  was 
distinctly  heard  to  pass  that  order.  One  of  the  Ameri- 
can soldiers  who  had  himself  asked  for  quarter,  seeing 
Macdonough's  fate,  shot  the  British  commander,  and 
immediately  followed  the  discharge  of  his  rifle  by 
savagely  thrusting  him  through  the  heart  with  the 
bayonet.  The  steel  passed  through  a  paper  in  Drum- 
mond's  breast  pocket,  on  which  was  written  the  order 
to  attack  containing  these  significant  words :  "The 
Lieutenant-General  most  strongly  recommends  the  free 
use  of  the  bayonet!"  The  blood-stained  paper  is  still 
preserved  by  the  New  York  Historical  Society ;  Drum- 
mond, of  course,  was  instantly  killed,  his  slayer  also. 
His  party,  however,  held  the  bastion  with  the  most  te- 
nacious courage  until  morning. 

The  Americans  brought  up  party  after  party  to 
effect  its  capture,  without  success.  As  the  day  dawned 
the  broken  assaulting  columns  which  had  been  rallied 


The  Niagara  Campaign  241 

after  their  repulse  at  Forts  Towson  and  Douglass,  ac- 
companied by  the  British  reserves,  were  seen  deploying 
in  the  open,  preparing  to  support  the  column  which  had 
not  yet  been  dislodged  from  the  bastion.  The  Ameri- 
can artillery  at  once  began  playing  upon  them,  doing 
great  execution ;  still  they  came  on.  Gaines  was  mak- 
ing ready  for  another  desperate  attempt  to  recapture 
the  coveted  bastion,  when  there  was  a  violent  explosion 
inside  the  work  which  killed  or  wounded  most  of  the 
British,  and  the  position  was  at  once  recaptured,  where- 
upon the  British  columns  withdrew  precipitately  and 
the  battle  was  over.  It  is  reported  that  Lieutenant 
Macdonough,  wounded  and  dying,  incensed  at  his  bru- 
tal treatment,  saw  an  opportunity  and  exploded  an 
artillery  caisson  by  the  flash  of  his  pistol,  Samson- 
like  destroying  himself  and  his  foes.  The  total  loss  of 
the  British  in  this  attack  in  killed  and  wounded  was 
one  thousand  men,  the  American  rather  less  than  one 
hundred !  The  bastion  was  repaired  under  fire,  and 
the  cannonading  was  renewed  with  spirit  on  both 
sides. 

Some  time  after,  General  Gaines  was  badly  wounded 
by  a  solid  shot,  and  General  Brown,  though  still  weak 
from  his  wound,  came  over  to  take  command  in  person. 
He  immediately  resolved  upon  a  sortie.  On  the  seven- 
teenth of  September,  at  half  after  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  the  carefully  arranged  sortie  was  delivered. 
The  assaulting  forces  were  divided  into  two  columns 
of  one  thousand  men  each.  One  under  General  Porter 
marched  over  a  road  which  had  been  opened  through 
the  woods  and  fell  upon  the  flank  of  the  British  camp 
and  entrenchments.  The  other,  under  Colonel  Miller, 
marched  up  a  ravine  and  interposed  between  the  left 
and  the  center  of  the  enemy's  line.  The  attack,  bril- 


242     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

liantly  delivered  under  cover  of  a  thick  fog,  was  a 
great  surprise  and  was  followed  up  successfully.  Bat- 
teries number  three  and  four  were  stormed  and  after 
a  furious  action  of  thirty  minutes,  were  captured  by 
Porter's  men.  This  success  was  followed  by  the  cap- 
ture of  the  blockhouse  in  the  rear  of  battery  number 
three.  The  garrison  were  made  prisoners,  cannon  and 
carriages  destroyed  and  the  blockhouse  and  magazine 
blown  up.  All  three  of  Porter's  regimental  comman- 
der's were  killed  or  wounded,  with  many  of  his  men. 
Miller,  equally  successful  with  his  column,  captured 
two  more  batteries  and  another  blockhouse.  Within 
forty  minutes  the  whole  forward  line  of  the  British 
entrenchments  was  in  possession  of  the  Americans. 
General  Ripley,  who  had  supported  the  attack,  now 
brought  up  his  reserve,  and  in  the  new  action  which 
ensued  received  a  severe  wound.  The  cannon  having 
been  destroyed  and  the  batteries  rendered  useless,  the 
Americans  having  affected  their  purpose  withdrew  in 
good  order,  their  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  being 
five  hundred  as  against  one  thousand  of  the  British; 
the  whole  affair  was  considered  most  creditable  to  the 
Americans. 

Hastily  collecting  his  shattered  forces,  on  the  night 
of  the  twenty-first,  Drummond  broke  up  his  camp 
and  retreated  behind  the  Chippewa,  leaving  large  stores 
and  munitions  of  war  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans. 
The  brave  Brown  being  unable  to  continue  in  command 
any  longer,  his  wound  breaking  out  afresh,  the  charge 
of  the  army  was  given  to  General  Izard,  who,  after  a 
futile  engagement  with  the  British,  mainly  carried  on 
by  skirmish  and  advance  parties,  destroyed  Fort  Erie 
and  recrossed  the  river  to  the  American  side  late  in  the 
fall.  General  Drummond  withdrew  his  force  at  the 


The  Niagara  Campaign  243 

same  time  to  Burlington  Heights,  so  the  peninsula 
was  abandoned  by  both  armies.  The  British  loss  in 
killed  and  wounded  in  the  whole  campaign,  in  which 
they  always  had  the  superior  force  and  never  once 
gained  the  victory,  was  over  three  thousand,  and  the 
American  loss  less  than  eighteen  hundred.  The  quality 
of  the  fighting,  and  the  way  the  Americans  had  devel- 
oped their  army,  went  a  long  way  toward  convincing  the 
English  of  the  futility  of  continuing  the  struggle,  and 
was  largely  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  peace 
treaty  which  was  signed  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  De- 
cember in  the  same  year. 


THE  AMERICAN  WASPS  AND 
THEIR  VICTIMS 


I.    THE    FROLIC 

THE  most  famous  name  among  the  smaller  ships  of 
the  early  American  navy  is  that  of  the  Wasp.  It  was 
borne  in  succession  by  two  similar  vessels,  which  in 
each  instance  sustained  the  high  reputation  of  the 
American  arms  with  an  equal  degree  of  fortune  and 
success.  The  first,  which  was  a  small  corvette  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty  tons  burden,  was  built  shortly  after 
the  close  of  the  Tripolitan  War.  She  was  armed  with 
sixteen  short  thirty-two-pounders  and  two  long 
twelves,  giving  a  total  weight  of  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  to  the  broadside.  Just  before  the  be- 
ginning of  the  War  of  1812,  she  was  in  England  with 
despatches  under  the  command  of  Captain  Jacob  Jones. 
He  was  the  third  eminent  man  of  the  same  name  who 
distinguished  himself  in  the  service. 

As  soon  as  he  reached  home  Captain  Jones  refitted 
and  started  out  on  a  cruise  with  his  ship  to  see  what  he 
could  devour.  On  his  second  cruise,  about  the  middle 
of  October,  1812,  he  was  making  for  the  track  between 
England  and  the  West  Indies  for  the  purpose  of  pick- 

244 


The  Wasps'  Victims  245 

ing  up  prizes,  when  he  was  overtaken  by  a  violent  gale 
during  which  the  jib-boom  carried  away,  taking 
with  it  two  men  who  were  on  it  at  the  time;  and  his 
ship  was  otherwise  damaged  in  the  severe  weather. 
The  gale  had  abated  somewhat,  though  the  sea  was 
still  running  high,  when  a  little  before  midnight  on  the 
seventeenth  of  October,  in  latitude  thirty-seven  degrees 
North,  longitude  sixty-five  degrees  West,  or  about  five 
hundred  miles  east  of  Albemarle  Sound,  North  Car- 
olina, he  raised  several  lights,  which  he  at  once  sus- 
pected to  be  a  convoy.  Uncertain,  however,  as  to  the 
character  of  the  force  which  might  be  guarding  the 
supposed  merchant  vessels,  Captain  Jones  prudently 
refrained  from  making  a  closer  inspection  until  the 
morning. 

When  the  sun  rose,  he  saw  that  the  convoy  consisted 
of  five  merchant  ships,  several  of  them  armed,  under 
the  charge  of  a  heavy  brig-of~war.  Jones  was  to  wind- 
ward of  the  squadron  and  he  immediately  bore  down 
in  chase.  The  war-brig  appeared  nothing  loath  for  ac- 
tion, and  signaling  her  convoy  to  make  sail  and  run 
before  the  wind,  she  interposed  between  them  and  the 
Wasp,  and  dropped  astern  to  reconnoiter,  clearing  for 
action  at  the  same  time.  As  the  Wasp  drew  nearer, 
Jones  saw  that  the  brig,  which  had  hoisted  a  Spanish 
flag,  had  her  main-yard  on  deck ;  it  had  been  damaged 
in  the  gale  of  the  day  before.  However,  as  the  wind 
was  very  heavy,  the  brig  was  manoeuvering  easily  under 
a  boom  mainsail  and  the  foretopsail  and,  in  fact,  had 
been  converted  into  a  brigantine,  a  very  handy  and  con- 
venient rig  for  her  under  the  circumstances.  The 
Wasp  was  under  short  fighting  canvas  also. 

At  half  after  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when 
the  two  vessels  were  within  fifty  yards  of  each  other, 


246     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Jones  hailed  and  demanded  the  stranger's  name.  The 
brig  hauled  down  the  Spanish  flag — which  had  de- 
ceived no  one,  by  the  way,  for  the  Spaniard  never  lived 
who  would  come  down  upon  a  foe  and  carry  sail  as  she 
had  done — hoisted  the  English  colors  and  poured  in 
a  broadside  followed  by  a  rattling  volley  of  musketry. 
The  Wasp  responded  in  kind  immediately,  and  the  two 
vessels  sailed  side  by  side  nearing  each  other  with  every 
passing  moment.  The  firing  was  rapid  and  severe  on 
both  sides,  although  the  English  delivered  three  broad- 
sides to  the  American  two.  The  sea  was  still  running 
very  heavy  and  the  roll  of  the  ships  was  tremendous, 
the  decks  were  flooded  from  time  to  time  and  the  gun 
muzzles  went  under  with  every  roll.  After  a  few  min- 
utes of  combat,  the  main  topmast  of  the  Wasp  was 
shot  away,  and  together  with  its  yards  fell  across 
the  forebraces,  rendering  it  impossible  to  swing  the 
head  yards  for  the  rest  of  the  action.  A  few  moments 
after  this  misfortune,  the  gaff  and  the  mizzen  topgal- 
lant mast  were  shot  away,  which  rendered  the  Wasp 
almost  unmanageable. 

At  11.52  A.M.  the  vessels  had  worked  to  within  half 
pistol-shot  distance  of  each  other.  The  Wasp  had  been 
cut  up  fearfully  aloft,  every  brace  and  most  of  her  run- 
ning rigging  had  been  carried  away,  and,  so  far  as  the 
Americans  could  see,  but  little  damage  had  as  yet  been 
done  to  their  antagonist.  They  could  not  account  for  it ; 
their  fire  had  been  deliberate  and  it  was  believed  accur- 
ate, the  crew  had  been  carefully  trained  and  exercised 
in  frequent  target  practice,  they  were  going  about  their 
work  coolly  enough,  and  why  no  damage  appeared  on 
their  enemy  was  difficult  to  understand.  There  had 
been  very  few  casualties  on  the  American  vessel  and 
the  fire  was  still  kept  up  unremittingly,  though  it  was 


The  Wasps'  Victims  247 

perceived  that  the  English  return  was  gradually  de- 
creasing in  violence  and  force.  At  this  juncture  the 
head  braces  of  the  brig  were  carried  away,  and  as  she 
was  unable  to  trim  her  yards,  the  pressure  of  the  wind 
upon  her  after  sails  threw  her  bows  up  toward  the 
broadside  of  the  Wasp  which  was  forging  ahead 
slowly. 

The  two  vessels  came  together  with  a  tremendous 
crash,  the  brig's  bowsprit  was  thrust  violently  be- 
tween the  main  and  mizzenmasts  of  the  American  and 
jammed  tightly  in  the  main-shrouds.  The  Amer- 
icans loaded  their  port  guns  with  grape  and  canister 
and  actually  fired  through  the  English  bridle  ports  and 
raked  the  enemy  with  terrible  effect.  No  reply  of  any 
kind  came  from  the  brig.  The  ships  were  so  close 
together  that  the  American  ramrods  struck  the  sides 
of  the  British  brig.  The  bowsprit  of  the  enemy  hav- 
ing been  fouled,  so  that  she  could  not  extricate  herself, 
Jones,  in  view  of  his  shattered  spars,  desired  to  rake 
her  again  before  he  attempted  to  board,  but  in  spite  of 
his  peremptory  orders,  the  impetuosity  of  his  crew 
could  no  longer  be  restrained.  After  the  first  rake, 
Jack  Lang,  an  American  sailor,  who  had  a  bitter  score 
to  pay  against  the  British  government  for  impress- 
ment, jumped  on  his  gun  and  reaching  for  the  brig's 
bowsprit  clambered  to  her  deck.  Lieutenant  James 
Biddle  had  stepped  up  on  the  rail  in  readiness  to  jump 
as  soon  as  the  roll  of  the  vessels  should  bring  them 
close  enough  together ;  at  a  nod  from  Jones  he  at  once 
leaped  for  the  enemy's  rail,  which  he  caught  with  his 
hands;  little  Midshipman  Baker,  utterly  unable  to 
reach  the  deck  of  the  other  ship,  now  caught  hold  of 
Biddle's  coat-tails  and  endeavored  to  swarm  up  his 
back,  whereupon  both  of  them  fell  back  upon  the 


248     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

deck  of  the  Wasp,  narrowly  escaping  a  fall  into 
the  water  between  the  two  ships.  Biddle  picked  up  the 
plucky  little  midshipman,  threw  him  on  the  rail  of  the 
silent  brig,  and  scrambled  up  afterward,  to  support  the 
intrepid  Lang,  who  had  been  alone  on  the  enemy's  deck 
for  nearly  a  minute.  The  other  boarders  immediately 
followed  and  gained  the  brig's  forecastle. 

Lang,  who  had  been  in  no  danger  whatever,  was 
standing  on  the  forecastle,  with  his  arms  folded  about 
his  cutlass,  surveying  in  great  awe  the  English  ship, 
the  like  of  which  neither  he  nor  any  other  man  had 
ever  seen  before.  The  deck  was  covered  thick  with 
dead  and  wounded  men,  many  of  the  latter  groaning 
and  shrieking  in  horrible  agony.  Aft  on  the  quarter- 
deck were  three  officers,  two  of  them  unable  to  stand 
alone,  and  all  of  them  badly  wounded.  At  the  wheel 
and  clinging  resolutely  to  its  spokes,  was  a  grim,  blood- 
stained old  sailor,  an  heroic  example  of  devotion  to 
duty,  who  still  kept  his  station  and  that  was  all.  The 
guns  were  dismounted  on  every  hand;  ports  had  been 
beaten  into  each  other,  rails  smashed,  not  a  boat  left 
at  the  davits.  The  decks  were  washed  about  with 
water  brightly  colored  with  the  blood  of  the  dead  and 
dying.  The  American  boarders  were  simply  appalled 
at  the  sight  of  the  slaughter.  They  stood  in  silence 
for  a  few  moments,  until  Biddle,  followed  by  Lieuten- 
ant Rogers  and  Midshipman  Baker,  after  directing 
the  other  men  to  remain  where  they  were,  picked  his 
way  over  the  bodies  to  the  quarter-deck.  As  he  ap- 
proached them,  the  three  officers  flung  down  their 
swords  at  his  feet,  and  one  of  them,  burying  his  face  in 
his  hands,  leaned  upon  the  rail  and  burst  into  tears. 
The  grim  old  sailor  still  kept  his  place  at  the  helm. 
Biddle  sprang  into  the  rigging  and  with  his  own  hands 


a  -I 


-     — 

II 

rj.       01 
~N      a 


"o     £ 


The  Wasps'  Victims  249 

lowered  the  flag.  After  forty-nine  minutes  of  strug- 
gle the  battle  was  over.  Almost  as  he  did  so,  the 
masts  of  the  prize  fell,  the  mainmast  breaking  off  close 
to  the  deck,  the  foremast  ten  feet  above  it. 

Out  of  a  crew  of  one  hundred  and  ten,  between  ten 
and  twenty  only  were  unscathed,  and  had  fled  below 
to  escape  the  awful  punishment  of  the  American  shot. 
The  actual  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  over  ninety. 
The  prize  proved  to  be  the  British  brig  Frolic,  Cap- 
tain Thomas  Whinyates.  She  was  of  four  hundred 
and  seventy  tons  burden  and  carried  twenty-two  guns, 
sixteen  short  thirty-twos  and  four  twelves  on  the  main 
deck,  and  two  twelve-pound  carronades  on  the  forecas- 
tle, which  gave  her  two  hundred  and  ninety  pounds  to 
the  broadside.  She  was  larger,  better  armed  and  in 
every  way  superior  to  the  Wasp,  and  she  had  been  ab- 
solutely beaten  to  pieces.  She  had  been  desperately 
defended  and  her  gun  fire  had  been  exceedingly  ac- 
curate. The  English,  however,  had  fired  on  the  up- 
ward roll  of  the  ship  on  the  waves  and  most  of  their 
shot  had  gone  into  the  rigging  and  braces.  The  Amer- 
icans had  fired  on  the  downward  roll  and  their  shot 
had  hulled  the  Frolic  repeatedly,  though,  of  course, 
they  had  not  been  aware  of  its  destructive  force  until 
after  the  action.  Captain  Whinyates  was  much  cen- 
sured for  his  defeat  by  an  inferior  force  and  was  never 
afterward  employed  in  active  service.  The  loss  on  the 
Wasp  was  only  five  killed  and  five  wounded.  Immedi- 
ately after  the  battle  another  English  vessel,  the 
Poictiers,  a  seventy-four,  hove  in  sight  and  captured 
both  vessels.  The  Wasp  made  an  effort  to  escape,  but 
when  her  men  shook  her  sails  out  of  the  gaskets  they 
found  they  had  been  cut  to  ribbons  by  the  enemy's  fire 
and  she  was  helpless. 


250     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

II.   THE   REINDEER 

EIGHTEEN  months  after  the  capture,  a  new  and  im- 
proved edition  of  the  former  ship  bearing  the  same 
name,  which  had  been  built  at  Washington  after  her 
loss,  got  to  sea  from  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  on 
May  i,  1814,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Johnston 
Blakely,  of  North  Carolina.  The  new  vessel  carried 
twenty  short  thirty-two-pound  carronades  and  two 
long  twelves,  a  total  of  twenty-two  guns  with  about 
three  hundred  and  nine  pounds  to  the  broadside.  She 
was  larger  and  better  built  than  the  old  ship,  and  of  a 
beautiful  model,  upon  which  her  designer  and  ship- 
builders had  lavished  all  their  inventive  capacity  and 
skill,  until  they  had  produced  one  of  the  swiftest  and 
handiest  vessels  upon  the  sea.  Her  crew  had  been  se- 
lected with  especial  care  and  she  was  very  heavily 
manned.  Blakely  was  already  a  distinguished  young 
officer  and  he  was  destined  to  add  greatly  to  his  repu- 
tation by  this  cruise.  He  made  for  the  crowded  waters 
of  the  European  coast,  and  by  his  captures  of  merchant 
vessels  spread  consternation  in  the  narrow  seas. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  June  28,  1814,  in 
latitude  forty-eight  degrees  thirty-six  minutes  North, 
longitude  eleven  degrees  fifteen  minutes  West,  the 
weather  being  cloudy  with  a  light  breeze  from  the 
northeast,  two  sail  were  raised  to  windward.  As  the 
Wasp  made  for  the  stranger,  three  other  vessels  ap- 
peared close  at  hand  off  the  weather  beam.  Blakely 
changed  his  course  for  the  nearest  ship,  and  at  12.30 
P.M.,  as  the  American  had  not  recognized  signals 
thrown  out  by  the  strangers,  Blakely  cleared  for  action. 
He  vainly  endeavored  to  get  the  weather-gage,  for 
the  English  ship  was  beautifully  handled,  and  the 


The  Wasps'  Victims  251 

Wasp  finally  fired  a  lee  gun  and  ran  off  free  with  the 
wind  a  little  forward  the  port  beam.  The  English  ship, 
a  brig-of-war,  accepted  the  bold  challenge  at  once  and 
hoisted  sail  to  close.  She  slowly  crept  up  on  the 
weather  quarter  of  the  American,  and  at  3.17  P.M. 
opened  fire,  at  a  range  of  about  sixty  yards,  from  a 
shifting  twelve-pound  carronade  upon  her  forecastle, 
which  was  loaded  with  grape.  To  this  discharge  the 
Americans  could  make  no  reply  and  they  had  perforce 
to  endure  patiently  the  fire  of  the  gun  which  was  dis- 
charged five  times  with  the  utmost  deliberation,  inflict- 
ing much  damage  to  the  ship  and  causing  some  loss 
among  the  men  for  nine  minutes,  or  until  3.26  P.M., 
when,  finding  that  the  enemy  did  not  draw  abreast 
of  him,  Blakely  put  his  helm  a-lee  and  luffed  up,  firing 
his  carronades  from  aft  forward  as  they  bore. 

For  ten  minutes  the  two  vessels,  lying  side  by  side 
about  as  far  from  each  other  as  the  width  of  an  ordinary 
city  street,  kept  up  an  unremitting  fire.  The  cannonade 
was  terrific.  The  concussions  of  the  explosions  dead- 
ened the  little  wind  prevailing,  so  that  the  ships  lost  way 
and  the  smoke  hung  over  them  in  heavy  clouds.  Both 
crews  worked  at  the  guns  with  desperate  energy  but 
the  odds  were  too  great  for  the  English  vessel,  the 
Reindeer;  Captain  William  Manners,  her  commander, 
one  of  the  finest  officers  in  the  service,  saw  that  his 
only  hope  lay  in  employing  that  last  resource  which  has 
been  so  often  successfully  tried  by  British  seamen,  the 
steel  of  their  cutlasses  and  their  good  right  arms.  The 
ships  were  now  almost  touching.  Suddenly  putting 
his  helm  hard  up,  the  captain  of  the  Reindeer  ran  the 
Wasp  aboard  on  her  port  quarter.  Manners  had  been 
slightly  wounded  several  times  and,  though  bleeding, 
still  stuck  to  his  post.  At  this  moment  .a  grape  shot 


252     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

passed  through  his  thighs,  bringing  him  to  the  deck, 
but  with  unparalleled  resolution  he  dragged  himself 
to  his  feet,  and  clinging  to  a  stay,  cheered  his  men  as 
they  sprang  to  board.  Blakely  was  ready  for  them. 

As  the  ships  came  together,  he  called  his  boarders 
aft  and  massed  them  behind  the  rail.  As  the  two  ves- 
sels lay  side  by  side,  their  boarders  hacked  and  thrust 
at  each  other  through  the  ports  in  the  shrouding 
smoke.  As  it  blew  away  from  the  now  silent  guns, 
the  English  sprang  to  the  rail.  But  a  little  chasm  sep- 
arated them,  caused  by  the  bends  of  the  ships,  and  there 
commenced  a  deadly  hand  to  hand  conflict.  The  top- 
men  and  marines  on  either  ship  poured  in  a  withering 
fire.  Presently  the  English  gave  back.  Then  it  was  that 
Manners  sprang  into  the  breach  sword  in  hand,  and 
wounded  and  dying  though  he  was,  he  summoned  the 
last  vestige  of  his  strength  and  leaped  to  the  rail  to  lead 
his  men  again.  They  followed  him  gallantly,  like  the 
brave  fellows  they  were.  At  this  instant,  a  bullet 
from  the  American  maintop  crushed  into  his  skull.  He 
clapped  his  left  hand  to  his  face,  shrieked  out  "My 
God  !"  and  still  brandishing  his  sword  in  his  right  hand 
fell  back  upon  the  deck  he  had  defended  so  desperately. 
No  one  ever  died  better.  As  the  British  hesitated  in 
the  face  of  this  loss,  Blakely  sprang  to  the  Reindeer's 
rail  and  gave  the  order  to  board,  and  with  wild  cheers 
the  Americans  followed  their  leader  to  the  British  deck. 
There  was  a  furious  struggle  for  a  few  minutes,  when 
the  British  were  either  killed  or  driven  below,  and 
the  captain's  clerk,  the  highest  surviving  officer,  sur- 
rendered the  ship ! 

The  time  of  the  conflict  had  been  twenty-seven  min- 
utes from  the  time  the  Reindeer  fired  her  shifting 
carronade,  and  only  eighteen  minutes  from  the  time 


The  Wasps'  Victims  253 

the  Wasp  had  first  responded.  The  Reindeer  was 
smaller  than  the  Wasp,  her  broadside  was  only  two 
hundred  and  ten  pounds  as  against  three  hundred  and 
fifteen;  her  crew  numbered  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
as  against  one  hundred  and  seventy-three.  The  Wasp 
had  twenty-six  killed  and  wounded  and  had  been 
rather  severely  handled.  The  Reindeer  had  sixty- 
seven  killed  and  wounded  and  had  been  cut  to  pieces. 
She  fought  under  greater  disadvantage  than  any  other 
of  the  British  sloops  which  had  been  captured  in  a  sin- 
gle action  during  the  whole  war,  yet  she  had  made  in- 
comparably the  best  fight  of  them  all !  There  were  no 
mistakes  made  on  either  side.  Manners  had  fought 
his  ship  in  the  most  brilliant  way,  and  no  human  man 
could  have  done  better.  On  the  other  hand,  the  differ- 
ence in  execution  on  the  two  vessels  in  favor  of  the 
American  was  fully  proportioned  to  the  latter's  pre- 
ponderance in  force.  It  is  impossible  to  see  how 
Blakely  could  have  ended  the  fight  more  quickly  and 
thoroughly  than  he  did.  As  Roosevelt  remarks,  "We 
may  take  great  pride  in  the  prowess  and  courage  and 
skill  exhibited  on  both  ships."  Manners  illustrated  in 
his  death  the  glorious  traditions  of  his  service  as  few 
men  have  done.  The  day  after  the  conflict  it  was 
found  impossible  to  save  the  Reindeer,  and  by  Blake- 
ly's  orders  she  was  burned. 


III.    THE   AVON 

AFTER  the  battle  the  Wasp  went  into  1'Orient  to  refit. 
On  the  twenty-seventh  of  August  Blakely  sailed  again, 
taking  several  prizes.  On  September  first  he  over- 
hauled a  convoy  bound  for  Gibraltar  under  the  protec- 


254     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

tion  of  a  line-of-battle  ship,  the  Armada,  74.  The 
brave  American,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  several 
times  chased  away  by  the  line-of-battle  ship,  finally 
succeeded  in  cutting  out  one  of  the  convoy,  laden  with 
guns  and  military  stores  of  great  value,  which  he  de- 
liberately proceeded  to  burn  and  destroy  under  the 
nose  of  the  infuriated  captain  of  the  liner.  It  was  a 
part  of  Blakely's  bold  daring  that  he  should  have  ac- 
complished this  audacious  feat  without  harm  to  his 
ship.  At  half  past  six  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day, 
being  in  latitude  forty-seven  degrees  thirty  minutes 
North,  longitude  eleven  degrees  West,  having  run  the 
convoy  out  of  sight,  he  discovered  four  sail,  two  to 
starboard  and  two  to  port;  he  at  once  determined  to 
have  a  nearer  look  at  them — that  they  might  all  be 
•ships-of-war  made  no  difference  to  him.  It  soon  ap- 
peared that  they  were  three  English  war  vessels  chas- 
ing an  American  privateer. 

At  seven  o'clock  the  nearest  one,  which  had  lagged 
far  behind  the  others,  and  which  was  afterward  found 
to  be  the  British  brig  Avon,  Captain  John  Arbuthnot, 
made  night  signals,  to  which  the  Wasp  paid  no  atten- 
tion. At  8.38  P.M.  the  Avon  began  firing  her  stern 
chaser.  At  twenty  minutes  after  nine  the  Wasp  weath- 
ered on  the  Avon  off  the  port  quarter.  Hails  were  ex- 
changed and  the  brig  was  ordered  to  heave  to.  She 
declined  and  set  her  foretopmast  studding  sail  to  es- 
cape. At  9.29  P.M.  the  Wasp  began  firing  with  a  twelve- 
pound  carronade  \vhich  had  been  mounted  forward 
after  the  action  with  the  Reindeer.  The  Avon  replied 
briskly  with  her  stern  guns.  Blakely,  then  fearing  that 
the  enemy  would  square  away  before  the  wind  and  es- 
cape in  the  darkness,  shifted  his  helm  and  ran  to  lee- 
ward of  her  and  ranged  alongside  after  pouring  a 


The  Wasps'  Victims  255 

semi-raking  broadside  into  her  starboard  quarter  as  he 
passed.  A  furious  engagement  began  immediately  at 
very  close  range.  The  night  was  a  black  one  and  all 
the  men  on  the  Wasp  could  see  was  a  great  shadow 
rushing  rapidly  through  the  water  by  their  side.  They 
could  aim  at  the  flashes  of  their  enemy's  guns  or  at  the 
white  foam  on  her  water-line,  and  as  usual  their  practice 
was  excellent.  The  Avon  was  hulled  again  and  again, 
her  guns  were  dismounted,  the  mainmast  was  carried 
away,  and  after  thirty  minutes  of  conflict  she  was  com- 
pletely silenced.  When  Blakely,  suspending  his  fire, 
asked  if  she  had  struck,  she  returned  with  a  few  scat- 
tered discharges  and  the  battle  was  commenced.  For 
ten  minutes  the  Wasp  again  poured  her  broadsides  into 
the  Avon,  which  was  hailed  at  the  end  of  that  time,  and 
this  time  answered  that  she  surrendered. 

Before  Blakely  could  take  possession  of  his  prize, 
another  sail,  the  British  brig-of-war  Castillian,  18, 
Captain  Brainer,  which  had  abandoned  the  chase,  was 
seen  astern.  The  men  sprang  to  quarters  again,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  two  more  sail  hove  in  sight,  one  of 
which  was  the  English  sloop  Tartarus,  20.  The  braces 
of  the  Wasp  being  much  cut  up,  she  ran  off  before  the 
wind  while  re-reeving  new  ones.  The  Castillian  made 
after  her  until  she  came  within  range,  when  she  poured 
in  a  broadside  which  went  over  the  American  and  did 
no  damage  at  all.  When  her  fire  was  returned  with 
promptness,  she  immediately  tacked  and  edged  away 
in  the  darkness.  The  ship  with  which  the  Wasp  had 
been  engaged  and  whose  name  the  crew  never  learned, 
was  now  making  a  signal  of  distress.  The  three  Brit- 
ish ships  left  the  Wasp  to  pursue  her  course  unimped- 
ed and  the  Castillian  made  for  the  Avon.  The 
Castillian  reached  her  at  twelve  o'clock,  midnight,  when 


256     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Captain  Brainer  was  informed  by  Captain  Arbuthnot 
that  she  was  sinking  fast,  and  by  one  o'clock,  just  as  the 
last  boat  load  of  men  had  been  taken  from  her,  the 
Avon  went  down  bow  foremost.  The  Avon  mounted 
eighteen  guns,  carrying  two  hundred  and  sixty-two 
pounds  to  the  broadside;  out  of  her  crew  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  men,  forty-two  had  been  killed  and 
wounded.  The  loss  on  the  Wasp  was  two  killed  and 
one  wounded. 

The  Wasp  continued  on  her  course,  capturing  and 
destroying  several  merchantmen  and  letters-of-marque, 
one  of  which,  the  Atlanta,  proving  of  great  value,  was 
sent  home.  The  prize  reached  Savannah  safely  on 
November  fourth,  bringing  Blakely's  report  of  his 
cruise  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  On  October  ninth 
the  Swedish  brig  Adonis,  carrying  two  American  lieu- 
tenants paroled  from  the  captured  frigate  Essex,  was 
overhauled  by  a  ship-of-war  in  latitude  eighteen  de- 
grees thirty-five  minutes  North,  longitude  thirty  de- 
grees ten  minutes  West.  Upon  being  informed  that 
the  man-of-war  was  the  American  sloop  Wasp,  Messrs. 
McKnight  and  Lyman,  the  two  lieutenants,  went 
aboard  her,  and  she  sailed  away  upon  her  cruise. 
From  that  day  to  this  she  disappeared  from  the  ken  of 
humanity.  Not  a  sight  nor  a  sign  of  her  has  ever 
come  up  from  the  great  deep  to  say  what  ever  became 
of  Blakely  and  his  gallant  crew.  Some  time  after- 
ward, it  is  stated,  a  large  British  frigate  put  into 
Lisbon  very  badly  damaged  and  cut  up,  and  re- 
lated that  she  had  suffered  in  a  night  action  with  a 
small  American  sloop,  at  the  close  of  which  the  latter 
suddenly  disappeared.  James  Barnes  surmises  that 
this  might  have  been  the  Wasp.  It  is  certainly  possi- 
ble of  course,  though  there  is  no  proof  of  it,  and  who 


The  Wasps'  Victims  257 

could  wish  for  a  better  end  for  that  little  terror  of  the 
sea  than  for  her  to  go  down  with  her  colors  flying, 
after  a  bitter  battle  against  overwhelming  odds?  But 
there  is  nothing  certain  about  the  surmise,  and  we  shall 
not  really  know  what  became  of  them  until  that  long 
deferred  clay  when  the  earth  and  the  sea  shall  give  up 
their  dead.  It  is  singular  also  that  the  first  Wasp, 
which  was  captured  by  the  Poicticrs  and  was  taken 
into  the  British  service,  sailed  away  on  a  cruise  in  this 
same  year  and,  like  her  younger  American  namesake, 
never  came  back  again.  Perhaps  in  some  mighty  ocean 
Valhalla,  in  amity  and  friendship,  these  heroes  of  the 
deep  meet  together  and  tell  tales  of  the  old  days  when 
they  battled  stoutly  for  the  honor  of  their  flags  upon 
the  sea. 


MACDONOUGH   AT  LAKE 
CHAMPLAIN 


WAR  OF    l8l2 

THE  greatest  figure  in  the  naval  annals  of  our  country 
from  Paul  Jones  to  David  Farragut  is  Thomas  Mac- 
donough.  Prior  to  the  Civil  War,  the  naval  battle 
which  he  fought  and  won,  was  certainly  the  most  im- 
portant of  any  in  which  the  American  navy  has  partici- 
pated. From  the  point  of  strategy,  tactics,  seamanship, 
and  hard,  desperate  fighting,  it  stands  in  the  first  rank. 
Singularly  enough,  it  has  never  been  a  popular  battle, 
and  Macdonough  does  not  hold  that  place  in  the  af- 
fections of  his  countrymen  to  which  his  merits  entitle 
him.  Two  of  the  largest  and  most  popular  encyclo- 
pedias in  my  library  do  not  even  mention  his  name. 
Without  in  the  least  minimizing  the  service  nor  dis- 
paraging the  greatness  of  Perry,  at  Lake  Erie,  as  a 
tactician,  as  a  fighter,  as  a  man,  he  is  not  to  be  men- 
tioned in  the  same  breath  as  Macdonough. 

As  might  be  surmised  from  his  name,  the  tall,  slen- 
der, blue-eyed,  red-headed  young  fighter  (twenty-eight 
when  he  fought  his  great  battle)  was  of  Scotch  descent. 
His  great-great-grandfather  emigrated  to  Ireland  and 

258 


Lake  Champlain  259 

from  thence  his  grandfather  came  early  to  America,  so 
that  if  any  one  falls  within  the  disputed  category  of 
"Scotch-Irish,"  it  is  certainly  he.  His  brother  had 
been  a  midshipman  with  Truxtun,  and  when  the  Con- 
stellation captured  L'Insurgente,  one  of  the  three  men 
wounded  on  the  American  was  James  Macdonough, 
who  lost  a  leg  and  retired  from  the  service.  Inspired 
by  his  brother's  glorious  example,  and  I  doubt  not  by 
the  memory  of  the  sacrifice  of  his  father,  a  successful 
physician  who  had  given  up  his  practice  to  go  into  the 
line  of  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  where  he  rose  to  a 
high  rank,  Thomas  Macdonough  at  the  late  age  of 
seventeen  gladly  received  a  midshipman's  warrant. 
He  took  a  distinguished  part  in  the  operations  around 
Tripoli,  and  was  one  of  the  officers  who  accompanied 
Decatur  when  he  cut  out  the  Philadelphia. 

A  year  or  two  after,  while  he  was  first  lieutenant  of 
the  brig  Siren  and  in  command  in  the  absence  of  the 
captain,  a  British  man-of-war  sent  an  eight-oared  boat 
to  an  American  merchantman  lying  near  the  Siren  and 
took  from  her  a  sailor.  On  his  own  responsibility 
Macdonough  called  away  his  boat,  manned  by  four 
stout  oarsmen,  pursued  the  Britisher  until  he  caught  up 
with  him,  and  peremptorily  demanded  the  return  of  the 
man.  When  he  was  refused  he  boldly  reached  over  the 
gunwale  of  the  English  boat  and  hauled  the  captive 
into  his  own  boat,  right  under  the  guns  of  the  frigate, 
and  made  his  way  back  to  the  Siren.  The  English 
captain  followed  hot  foot  and  furious  with  rage,  but 
Macdonough,  entirely  equal  to  the  occasion,  stood  his 
ground  and  declared  he  would  sink  alongside  rather 
than  give  up  the  man.  The  man  was  not  given  up. 

There  is  a  family  tradition  to  the  effect  that  while 
in  command  of  a  merchant  vessel  during  a  leave  of  ab- 


260     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

sence.  he  was  actually  seized  himself,  by  a  press  gang, 
and  in  spite  of  his  protestations,  was  sent  aboard  a 
British  frigate,  where  his  name  was  duly  entered  upon 
the  ship's  books.  The  night  of  the  capture  his  ham- 
mock was  swung  next  to  that  of  the  corporal  of  the 
marine  guard.  The  story  goes,  that  when  the  corporal 
turned  in,  Macdonough  dressed  himself  in  the  marine's 
uniform,  went  up  on  deck,  and  boldly  got  permission 
from  the  officer  in  charge  to  go  into  the  cutter  along- 
side at  the  swinging  boom,  to  search  for  spirits.  As 
he  went  forward  to  drop  into  the  boat,  the  real  cor- 
poral awakening  and  missing  his  clothes,  came  up  on 
deck  to  give  the  alarm.  The  bold  American  knocked 
him  senseless  with  his  fist,  ran  out  on  the  boom, 
dropped  into  the  boat,  cut  the  lashing,  drifted  away, 
and  in  spite  of  pursuit,  regained  his  own  ship  and  got 
under  way.  He  paid  back  the  score  fully  later  on. 

When  he  was  sent,  a  young  lieutenant,  to  take  com- 
mand on  Lake  Champlain,  like  Perry,  he  had  to  impro- 
vise a  navy,  ships,  guns,  officers  and  nearly  everything 
else.  By  herculean  exertions  he  finally  built  or  as- 
sembled a  small  squadron :  a  sloop-of-war,  the  Sarato- 
ga, which  he  commanded  himself;  a  brig,  the  Eagle, 
Lieutenant  Robert  Henly,  an  old  friend  from  the 
Constellation;  the  schooner  Ticonderoga  (converted 
into  a  war  vessel  from  a  broken  down  steamboat,  by 
the  way)  commanded  by  Stephen  Cassin;  the  sloop 
Preble,  and  ten  galleys  or  gunboats,  small  affairs, 
mainly  propelled  by  oars,  carrying  one  or  two  rather 
heavy  guns  and  manned  by  from  twenty-five  to  forty 
men  each. 

The  British,  under  Commodore  Downie,  an  experi- 
enced officer,  with  equal  skill  and  exertion  had  secured 
or  built  a  similar  squadron,  comprising  a  heavy  frigate, 


Lake  Champlain  261 

the  Con-fiance,  about  twice  as  large  as  the  Saratoga 
and  three  times  as  efficient,  and  which  should  have 
been  a  match  for  any  three  of  Macdonough's  vessels; 
a  brig,  the  Linnet,  of  slightly  less  force  than  the  Eagle; 
two  sloops,  the  Chubb  and  the  Finch,  each  about  half 
again  as  large  as  the  Preble  and  correspondingly  smal- 
ler than  the  Ticonderoga,  and  twelve  gun  boats  similar 
to  the  American  vessels  of  the  same  class. 

Except  for  their  light  draft  the  large  vessels  of  both 
squadrons  were  built,  rigged,  and  equipped  as  if  for 
sea.  A  reference  to  the  table  following  this  chapter 
shows  the  force,  etc.,  of  the  two  squadrons.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  British  had  a  great  superiority  in  the 
number  and  size  of  their  long  guns  and  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  them.  The  more  force  that  is  concentrated 
in  one  ship  in  such  circumstances,  the  greater  the  ad- 
vantage. This  advantage,  however,  the  tactical  dis- 
position and  seamanlike  prevision  of  Macdonough 
largely  neutralized. 

The  little  bay  near  Plattsburg  between  Cumberland 
Head  and  Crab  Island  looks  toward  the  south,  and  the 
American  position  had  been  so  skilfully  chosen  that 
the  attacking  force  would  be  compelled  to  come  up 
bows  on,  whatever  the  state  of  the  wind,  and  thus  sub- 
ject themselves  to  a  raking  fire.  This  did  not  matter 
much  to  the  ordinary  English  seaman,  for  he  had  been 
accustomed  by  years  of  success  to  swoop  down  upon 
his  continental  enemies  in  any  sort  of  a  way,  his  only 
object  being  to  get  alongside,  when  the  end  was  certain. 
It  may  be  remarked  in  passing,  if  Nelson  had  led  down 
upon  an  American  fleet  as  he  did  on  the  French  and 
Spanish  at  Trafalgar,  his  vessels  would  have  been 
beaten  to  pieces  in  succession,  and  the  result  of  the  bat- 
tle would  have  been  the  other  way.  This  is  no  disre- 


262     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

spect  to  Nelson,  the  greatest  admiral  of  all  history, 
for  he  knew  upon  whom  he  was  leading  down ! 

Macdonough  had  drawn  up  his  fleet  in  line  ahead, 
the  Eagle  in  the  lead  close  to  the  shore,  her  nose  fairly 
poking  into  a  shoal,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  an  ene- 
my to  turn  that  flank  so  long  as  she  stayed  there.  Next 
to  the  Eagle  was  the  flagship  Saratoga,  following  her 
the  Ticonderoga,  and  at  the  rear  of  the  line  resting  on 
Crab  Island,  which  carried  a  one-gun  battery,  a  six- 
pounder,  manned  by  invalids  and  convalescents  from 
the  hospital  thereon,  was  the  little  Preble.  The  inter- 
spaces between  the  large  ships  were  filled  by  the  gun- 
boats which  were  withdrawn  somewhat  to  form  a 
second  line,  and  the  larger  part  of  the  gunboats  were 
ordered  to  support  the  more  vulnerable  part  of  the  line 
where  the  Preble  and  Ticonderoga  lay  (which  they 
mainly  failed  to  do). 

Every  one  of  the  American  ships  had  sent  anchors 
down  with  ropes  leading  to  different  parts  of  the  ship, 
by  hauling  in  or  slacking  off  which  the  vessels  could  be 
turned  in  any  direction.  Technically,  they  had  springs 
on  their  cables,  with  which  to  wind  ship,  and  stream 
and  kedge  anchors  out,  in  case  any  of  the  sheet  or  other 
cables  were  shot  away.  It  was  this  precaution  which 
finally  gained  the  victory  for  Macdonough. 

The  morning  of  Sunday,  September  1 1, 1814 — singu- 
lar how  many  of  our  naval  battles  have  been  on  Sunday 
— was  as  fair  a  day  in  which  to  worship  God  as  ever 
comes  to  these  beautiful  regions  in  the  early  autumn. 
The  gentle  breeze  from  the  north  slightly  ruffled  the 
surface  of  the  lake  as  the  enemy  slowly  made  their 
way  with  the  wind  aft  round  Cumberland  Head,  and 
then  hove  to  out  of  range  below  the  American  line, 
until  the  vessels  were  all  assembled  and  in  place,  when 


Lake  Champlain  263 

they  deliberately  began  to  beat  up  toward  the  waiting 
squadron.  It  was  not  the  first  time  that  the  besom  of 
war  had  swept  the  waters  of  the  lake,  nor  the  clamor  of 
battle  reechoed  from  the  crags  which  fringed  its  shores. 
Every  silent  hill  was  eloquent  with  the  war-cry  of  the 
terrible  savage  and  the  shriek  of  his  terrified  victim: 
the  valleys  were  reminiscent  with  the  prayers  of  the 
heroic  Jesuit  priests ;  the  air  was  filled  with  memories  of 
the  French,  the  German  and  the  English  soldiers  and 
woodsmen;  in  every  rocky  cavern  lurked  the  echo  of 
ringing  steel  and  roaring  cannon. 

Now  a  powerful  army  of  veterans  of  the  peninsula, 
than  whom,  as  their  own  officers  testified,  there  never 
was  a  braver  soldiery  nor  a  more  bloody,  brutal,  and 
ferocious,  were  making  ready  to  strike  down  the  old 
war-path,  in  order  to  cut  the  struggling  young  United 
States  in  two  and  dictate  terms  of  peace  and  surrender 
in  the  chief  city  of  the  conquered.  General  Macomb, 
with  a  small  body  of  regulars  and  a  few  thousand  mili- 
tia, his  total  force  not  a  third  as  great  as  that  which 
menaced  him,  was  yet  resolutely  preparing  to  dispute 
the  advance  to  the  bitter  end,  but  the  fate  of  the  enter- 
prise depended  upon  the  strength  of  the  naval  forces 
on  the  lake.  When  they  had  brushed  aside  Macdonough 
the  valley  of  the  Hudson  would  be  clear  and  their  way 
to  New  York  open.  As  long  as  the  Americans  held 
the  lake  the  movement  was  impossible.  Downie  came 
on  in  full  confidence  of  his  own  ability  to  do  the  neces- 
sary brushing  aside. 

As  the  rolling  echo  of  the  drums  beating  to  quar- 
ters softly  melted  away  among  the  surrounding  hills, 
and  the  busy  note  of  preparation  subsided  into  an  ex- 
pectant silence,  Macdonough  bade  his  waiting  crews 
to  prayer.  There  at  their  stations  with  bowed  heads 


264     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

they  knelt  down  upon  the  white  decks,  soon  to  be 
stained  with  their  own  blood,  while  with  his  own  lips, 
in  the  familiarwords  of  the"Book  of  Common  Prayer," 
the  young  commander  invoked  the  protection  of  the 
God  of  Battles  for  the  coming  conflict — a  rare  and 
memorable  scene  indeed ! 

As  the  British  in  grim  silence  slowly  drew  near,  their 
plan  of  attack  developed  itself.  The  brig  Linnet  and  the 
sloop  Chubb  luffed  up  toward  the  head  of  Macdon- 
ough's  line,  where  the  Eagle  lay.  The  sloop  Finch 
and  all  of  the  galleys  kept  away  toward  the  rear  of  the 
line,  while  the  Confiance  prepared  to  smash  in  through 
the  center,  between  the  Eagle  and  the  Saratoga.  The 
plan  was  simple  but  good.  Macdonough  was  a  dis- 
organizing factor  in  carrying  it  out,  however ;  with  his 
own  hands  he  aimed  and  fired  the  first  gun  (a  previous 
broadside  from  the  Eagle,  which  fell  far  short,  not 
being  counted)  ;  the  twenty-four-pound  shot  from  the 
Saratoga  struck  the  English  flagship  squarely  in  the 
bow,  passed  through  the  hawse  pipe  and,  ranging  aft. 
dismounted  a  gun,  killed  several  men,  and  carried 
away  the  wheel;  she  had  been  fairly  raked.  It  was  a 
little  after  eight  in  the  morning. 

The  American  ships  now  opened,  as  their  guns 
bore,  and  the  Confiance,  which  came  on  steadily  and 
imperturbably,  was  raked  again  and  again.  All  hope 
of  breaking  through  the  line  had  to  be  abandoned  in 
the  face  of  that  smashing  fire,  and  the  battle  neces- 
sarily resolved  itself  into  an  artillery  duel  at  long 
range.  Therefore,  when  Downie  reached  a  position  in 
which  he  judged  he  could  use  his  preponderating  force 
of  long  guns  to  the  best  advantage,  the  Confiance 
dropped  anchor,  deliberately  and  with  splendid  cour- 
age took  in  sail,  swung  calmly  round  until  her  battery 


tfl  .2 
5    §• 


— •  > 

"o  : 

4J  -5 

i  i 


Lake  Champlain  265 

bore,  and  within  the  distance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  poured  into  the  Saratoga  a  shattering  broadside 
from  her  long  twenty-fours.  The  effect  was  fearful. 
On  the  American  over  a  hundred  men  were  knocked 
down  by  the  force  of  the  concussion.  The  ship  shiv- 
ered and  reeled  from  stem  to  stern,  from  truck  to  keel- 
son, under  the  fearful  impact.  More  than  forty  poor 
fellows  lay  weltering  in  their  blood.  First  Lieutenant 
Gamble,  in  the  act  of  sighting  a  gun,  was  killed  by  a 
piece  of  a  quoin  which  was  driven  against  him,  though 
the  blow  did  not  break  the  skin.  With  great  courage 
Macdonough  rallied  his  men,  and  the  broadside  was 
returned  with  effect. 

For  two  long  hours  the  two  anchored  ships  poured 
into  each  other  a  tremendous  and  continuous  fire,  Mac- 
donough toiling  at  the  guns  like  a  common  seaman 
with  the  rest,  and  by  his  personal  gallantry  sustaining 
his  men.  It  has  been  fondly  noted  by  various  writers 
that  the  terrible  first  broadside  of  the  Confiance 
smashed  a  chicken-coop  on  one  of  the  American  ves- 
sels, thus  liberating  a  game  cock,  which  sprang  into 
the  rigging  and  with  lusty  crowing  encouraged  the 
cheering  crews.  Inasmuch  as  nearly  every  writer  puts 
the  chicken  in  a  different  ship,  it  is  safe  to  conclude 
that  there  must  have  been  one  chicken  there,  and  the 
incident  probably  did  occur.  At  any  rate,  if  it  was  an 
American  chicken,  it  would  certainly  crow  upon  being 
made  free. 

Meanwhile,  up  at  the  head  of  the  line,  which  they 
unsuccessfully  endeavored  to  turn,  the  Linnet  and  the 
Chubb  were  heavily  engaged  with  the  Eagle.  After 
an  hour's  combat  the  Chubb  was  completely  disabled 
by  a  severe  raking  from  the  Eagle,  about  one  half  of 
her  crew  were  killed  and  wounded,  and,  with  reeking 


266     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

decks  and  shattered  spars,  she  drifted  helplessly  down 
the  line.  As  she  came  opposite  the  Saratoga,  a  twenty- 
four-pound  shot  brought  down  her  colors,  and  she  was 
gallantly  taken  possession  of  by  Midshipman  Pratt, 
and  removed  from  the  combat  to  the  rear  of  the  Ameri- 
can line. 

During  this  episode  the  Linnet  had  at  last  secured 
a  raking  position  off  the  starboard  bow  of  the  Eagle, 
and  the  springs  of  the  latter's  cables  being  unfortu- 
nately shot  away,  Henly  was  unable  to  make  any 
effective  defense,  so  he  finally  cut  his  cable,  sheeted 
home  his  topsails,  and  sailed  down  in  the  rear  of  the 
Saratoga,  where  he  brought  to  between  her  and  the 
Ticonderoga,  and  opened  a  brisk  fire  from  his  port 
guns  upon  the  big  Confiance  and  the  gunboats.  This 
left  the  head  of  Macdonough's  line  entirely  exposed, 
and  that  flank  was  at  once  turned.  The  Linnet,  ad- 
mirably handled,  took  a  position  squarely  across  the 
bows  of  the  Saratoga,  and  deliberately  raked  her  again 
and  again.  Macdonough,  hotly  engaged  with  the 
Confiance,  had  to  grin  and  bear  it  as  best  he  might. 
It  was  now  about  eleven  o'clock. 

While  the  head  is  being  turned  and  the  fierce  attack 
is  being  made  on  the  center,  let  us  look  to  the  other 
end  of  the  line.  The  little  Preble  had  almost  imme- 
diately been  driven  out  of  the  combat  by  the  onslaught 
of  the  flotilla  of  British  galleys,  and  she  took  no  further 
part  in  the  action.  The  Finch  was  so  roughly  han- 
dled by  the  larger  Ticonderoga  that  she  drifted  down 
under  the  lee  of  the  Crab  Island  battery  and  the  in- 
valids fired  their  little  gun  at  her,  which  caused  her  to 
surrender,  and  they  took  possession  of  the  sloop,  find- 
ing her  full  of  dead  and  wounded. 

This  left  the  Ticonderoga  and  four  of  the  Ameri- 


Lake  Champlain  267 

can  gunboats  to  sustain  the  attack  of  the  heavier,  better 
manned,  and  more  efficient  British  gunboats.  Some 
of  the  American  gunboats  did  not  behave  well,  and  for 
a  time  the  Ticonderoga  was  practically  alone.  The 
English  gunboats  attacked  with  the  greatest  spirit, 
driving  up  to  the  Ticonderoga  again  and  again,  pour- 
ing a  perfect  stream  of  grape  and  solid  shot  upon  the 
schooner,  getting  so  near  her  on  several  occasions  that 
the  oarsmen  sprang  to  their  feet  and  handled  cutlass 
and  pistol,  preparing  to  board,  but  time  and  again 
they  were  beaten  off  with  great  slaughter. 

The  brave  Cassin  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
fierce  little  battle  walked  the  taffrail  of  his  ship  as 
calmly  as  if  he  had  been  in  a  drawing-room,  unmindful 
of  the  stream  of  bullets  which  screamed  past  him,  en- 
couraging his  gallant  crew,  and,  with  the  greatest  pos- 
sible resolution,  holding  his  ground  against  these  over- 
whelming odds,  until  succored  by  some  more  of  the 
American  gunboats  and  .a  portion  of  the  fire  from  the 
Eagle.  His  conduct  was  simply  heroic,  his  services 
invaluable — yet  there  are  few  people  who  have  even 
heard  of  his  name.  During  this  part  of  the  action  the 
matches  gave  out  on  the  Ticonderoga,  and  Midship- 
man (after  Rear  Admiral)  Paulding  fired  the  guns  by 
snapping  his  pistol  at  the  touch  holes.  The  executive 
officer,  Stansbury,  was  struck  by  a  round  shot,  cut  in 
two,  and  his  body  carried  overboard.  His  disappear- 
ance had  not  been  observed,  and  the  mystery  of  it  was 
not  explained  until  his  body  rose  two  days  after  the 
battle.  The  schooner  was  riddled  with  bullets.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  if  she  had  been  driven  from 
her  post  the  battle  would  have  been  irretrievably  lost. 
So  much  for  Cassin  and  his  men. 

It  was  almost  lost  anyhow.     To  return  to  the  cen- 


268     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

ter,  the  raking  of  the  Linnet  and  the  steady  fire  for 
nearly  two  hours  from  the  enormous  battery  of  the 
Confiance  had  at  last  silenced  the  overmatched  Sara- 
toga. Twice  she  had  been  set  on  fire  by  hot  shot.  All 
the  officers,  except  Macdonough,  had  been  killed  or 
wounded.  He  himself  had  been  knocked  senseless 
three  times.  The  first  time  a  shot  cut  the  spanker 
boom  above  his  head,  and  one  of  the  broken  pieces 
fell  upon  him;  a  splinter  struck  him  on  the  second 
occasion;  and  the  third  time  he  was  actually  struck 
in  the  breast  by  a  human  head,  which  belonged  to  the 
captain  of  his  favorite  gun,  who  had  just  been  decapi- 
tated by  a  round  shot.  Macdonough  was  like  Jones, 
however,  in  that  he  never  knew  when  he  was  beaten. 

The  slaughter  had  been  fearful.  Many  of  the  men 
had  their  clothes  literally  torn  from  them  by  the  splint- 
ers, the  master  being  a  striking  example.  He  fought 
the  latter  part  of  the  action  in  a  breech-clout  alone, 
though  he  had  not  been  otherwise  damaged  by 
the  splinters  which  had  stripped  him  of  his  raiment. 
On  the  Confiance  the  loss  had  been  extremely  severe 
also,  and  in  one  sense  irreparable.  About  fifteen  min- 
utes after  the  battle  began,  a  shot  from  the  Saratoga 
had  struck  one  of  the  guns  of  the  Confiance,  torn  it 
from  its  carriage,  and  hurled  it  against  Commodore 
Downie,  who  had  been  instantly  killed,  though  the  skin 
of  his  body,  as  was  the  case  with  Lieutenant  Gamble, 
was  not  even  broken.  English  seamen  who  had  been 
at  Trafalgar  said  afterward  that  this  little  battle  was 
infinitely  more  fierce  and  bloody  than  that  great  one. 
The  fight  was  going  on  all  along  the  line  at  the  same 
time,  and  the  lake  was  covered  with  smoke.  The  light 
breeze  had  died  away  entirely. 

At  this  moment  Macdonough,  finding  that  every 
gun  in  his  starboard  battery  had  been  dismounted  and 


Lake  Champlain  269 

silenced,  determined  to  wind  ship  and  thus  bring  his 
new  and  hitherto  unengaged  port  battery  into  play. 
His  forethought  had  provided  him  with  the  means  to 
do  this,  and  as  the  undaunted  men  strained  at  the  haw- 
sers the  gallant  little  corvette  swung  slowly  about  until 
presently  the  after  gun  of  the  port  battery  bore  upon 
the  Confiance.  When  it  sent  its  missile  of  death  crash- 
ing through  the  side  of  the  doomed  frigate,  the  end  of 
the  battle  began. 

Robertson,  who  had  succeeded  Downie  in  com- 
mand of  the  Confiance,  finding  his  own  battery  almost 
dismounted,  attempted  to  emulate  Macdonough's  ma- 
nceuver,  but  for  lack  of  proper  prevision  could  not 
complete  the  evolution.  His  bower  anchors  had  been 
shot  away  early  in  the  fight,  and  his  vessel  only  turned 
so  that  her  bows  faced  the  Saratoga  as  she  swept  about, 
and  there  she  hung,  absolutely  helpless  and  immovable. 
Manning  the  port  battery  with  eager  avidity,  the 
Americans  on  the  Saratoga,  heartily  seconded  by  the 
Eagle,  poured  a  tremendous  raking  fire  into  the  Con- 
fiance.  It  was  more  than  humanity  could  stand,  and 
in  a  short  time  her  colors  were  hauled  down. 

She  was  a  wreck.  Her  masts  looked  like  bunches 
of  match  wood,  and  her  sails  like  bundles  of  rags. 
Over  one  half  of  her  crew  had  been  killed  or  severely 
wounded.  By  the  testimony  of  one  of  her  own  offi- 
cers, there  were  not  five  men  left  on  her  who  had  not 
some  mark  of  the  combat  on  them.  The  Saratoga 
was  now  swung  again  until  her  broadside  bore  upon 
the  plucky  Linnet,  which  had  enjoyed  immunity  here- 
tofore on  account  of  weightier  matters,  and  for  fifteen 
minutes  she  had  made  a  chopping-block  out  of  that 
devoted  vessel. 

Pring,  with  a  resolution  so  great  that  it  cannot 
be  too  highly  commended,  fought  his  little  brig  to  the 


270     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

last,  in  the  hope  that  the  gunboats  might  come  up  and 
assist  him,  or  something  might  happen,  until  she  was 
a  total  wreck  in  fact,  when,  not  getting  the  desired 
help,  he  reluctantly  struck  her  colors.  The  battle 
was  over.  It  was  a  little  before  twelve  o'clock.  The 
shattered  British  gunboats  now  surrendered  to  the 
Eagle  and  the  Ticonderoga,  but  as  the  Americans  were 
in  no  condition  to  take  possession  or  to  pursue,  the 
English  boats  slowly  drifted  away  and  finally  escaped, 
many  of  them  in  a  sinking  condition. 

Practically  the  whole  British  fleet  had  been  cap- 
tured. I  only  know  of  three  other  instances  when  a 
whole  fleet  of  ships  was  captured  or  destroyed — one 
was  by  Nelson  at  Aboukir,  the  second  by  Dewey  at 
Manila,  the  third  by  Sampson  at  Santiago.  The 
combat  had  lasted  over  two  hours  and  a  half  without 
intermission,  and  had  been  fierce  and  bloody  in  the 
extreme.  The  attacks  on  Plattsburg  by  Wellington's 
veterans  under  Prevost — rather  feebly  delivered,  to  be 
sure — had  been  stoutly  repulsed  by  Macomb's  levies, 
who  had  made  a  most  gallant  defense,  and  when  the 
news  of  the  victory  of  Macdonough  was  carried 
ashore,  Prevost  withdrew  incontinently,  leaving  a  large 
part  of  his  stores  and  munitions  of  war  behind.  New 
York  was  free  from  invasion  and  capture,  and  the  stu- 
pendous victory  of  'Macdonough  played  a  great  part 
in  the  treaty  of  peace  which  soon  after  ensued. 

Medals,  swords,  honors,  prize  money,  grants  of  land, 
were  poured  upon  the  great  seaman,  who  announced  his 
victoryinthis  modest  despatch :  "The  Almighty  has  been 
pleased  to  grant  us  a  signal  victory  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain  in  the  capture  of  one  frigate,  one  brig,  and  two 
sloops-of-war  of  the  enemy."  Spears,  the  naval  his- 
torian, says,  with  all  due  respect  to  religion  (he  re- 
minds me  of  George  Sampson  in  this),  that  for  the  pur- 


Lake  Champlain 


271 


pose  of  rousing  the  seamen  a  rooster  in  the  rigging  is 
worth  more  than  a  dozen  prayers  on  the  quarter-deck ; 
but,  without  any  undue  piety,  we  may  question  his 
decision  as  to  the  relative  value,  even  upon  the  sailor's 
mind,  of  the  prayers  to  God  of  the  humble-minded  but 
high-spirited  Christian  commander  and  the  shrill  cry 
of  the  game  cock  in  the  shrouds. 

Macdonough  died  at  sea,  in  1825,  while  returning 
from  the  command  of  the  European  squadron.  An 
anonymous  writer  in  the  "  National  Portrait  Gallery  " 
well  sums  him  up  in  these  words :  "  The  great  charm 
of  his  character  was  in  the  refinement  of  his  taste,  the 
purity  of  his  principles,  and  the  sincerity  of  his  relig- 
ion. These  gave  a  perfume  to  his  name  which  the 
partial  page  of  history  seldom  can  retain  for  departed 
warriors,  however  brilliant  their  deeds." 


Guns 

Killed  and 

American 

Tons 

Crew 

Long 

Short 

Total 

ser.  wd. 

Saratoga 

75° 

240 

8 

18 

26 

57 

Eagle 

500 

15° 

8 

12 

20 

33 

Ticonderoga 

35° 

112 

12 

5 

J7 

12 

Preble 

80 

30 

7 

o 

7 

2 

6  Gunboats 

420 

246 

6 

6 

12 

3 

4  Gunboats 

1  60 

104 

4 

o 

4 

3 

Total 


2260 


882 


45 


86 


no 


British 

Confiance 

1300 

325 

3i 

6 

37 

180 

Linnet 

35° 

i25 

16 

o 

16 

5° 

Chubb 

no 

5° 

i 

IO 

ii 

20 

Finch 

no 

5° 

4 

7 

ii 

20 

5  Gunboats 
7  Gunboats 

35° 
280 

205 
182 

5 
3 

5 
4 

10 

7 

I  80 

Total 

British  Excess 
over  American 


2520         937 


60 


32 


260 


55 


92        35° 


240 


REID  AND  THE  GENERAL 
ARMSTRONG 


WAY  for  the  bold  men  of  the  privateers — the  free- 
lances of  the  sea!  The  sails  of  their  saucy  clippers 
gleamed  in  the  sunlight  of  every  horizon,  their  stanch 
keels  parted  the  waters  of  every  ocean  in  their  dashing 
pursuit  of  British  merchantmen.  With  a  valor  which 
often  equaled  that  of  their  better-trained  naval  breth- 
ren, they  upheld  the  honor  of  the  flag  in  all  quarters 
of  the  globe.  When  resistance  was  made  to  their  at- 
tacks they  generally  fought  with  credit  and  success, 
even,  in  many  instances,  against  regularly  commis- 
sioned war  ships  of  the  foe.  With  a  persistency  which 
was  the  despair  of  the  British  ship  masters  and  owners, 
they  flaunted  their  flags  in  the  English  Channel  in  the 
face  of  the  fleets  and  squadrons  of  English  men-of- 
war,  and  displayed  their  skill  and  courage  in  the  dis- 
tant China  seas  as  well.  They  searched  the  hidden 
recesses  of  the  world  for  their  prey,  and  no  route  of 
trade  was  so  remote  as  to  be  safe  from  their  ravages. 
The  damage  they  inflicted  and  the  part  they  played 
in  bringing  the  War  of  1812  to  a  close  can  hardly  be 
overestimated.  Their  adventures  are  as  romantic  as 

272 


Reid  and  the  Armstrong          273 

the  inventions  of  the  novelist.  The  story  of  their 
naval  ruses,  subterfuges,  pursuits,  rights,  and  flights, 
makes  most  brilliant  history — history  which,  save  in 
rare  instances,  has  only  been  recorded  in  the  most  mea- 
ger way.  They  had  no  inconsiderable  share  in  laying 
the  foundation  of  the  naval  greatness  of  the  United 
States,  and  though  it  cannot  be  denied  that  their  first 
aim  was  plunder,  yet  their  conduct  in  many  a  desperate 
little  fight  shows  that  patriotism  and  courage  were, 
after  all,  master  motives  of  their  souls.  There  will  be 
no  more  of  them  hereafter — international  agreement 
has  abolished  them  now — but  the  country  should  never 
forget  their  services  in  the  two  great  wars  we  have 
fought  with  England. 

The  most  conspicuous  of  them  all,  for  he  fought 
the  greatest  fight  in  their  records  and  the  most  impor- 
tant, was  Captain  Samuel  Chester  Reid.  It  gives  one 
who  has  an  idea  that  there  has  been  a  great  gulf  fixed 
from  time  immemorial  between  England  and  the 
United  States,  something  of  a  shock  to  find  that  he  was 
the  son  of  an  English  naval  officer.  This  officer,  while 
in  charge  of  a  boat  expedition  in  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, was  captured  by  the  rebellious  colonists,  and 
when  he  had  been  sufficiently  persuaded  of  the  justice 
of  their  cause,  he  resigned  his  commission  in  the  Brit- 
ish navy  and  entered  the  American  service.  It  may 
be  that  Miss  Rebecca  Chester,  whose  people  were  brave 
soldiers  and  stanch  supporters  of  the  Revolution,  had 
something  to  do  with  the  decision  at  which  he  arrived ; 
at  any  rate,  he  married  her  in  1781,  and  to  them,  in 
1783,  the  year  of  the  peace,  was  born  the  great  pri- 
vateer. 

He  came  of  distinguished  ancestry  on  both  sides  of 
the  house,  his  father  being  a  direct  descendant  of  the 


274     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Lord  High  Admiral  of  Scotland  in  the  great  days  of 
Bruce;  while  the  Chesters  were  of  old  colonial  and 
English  stock,  none  better,  counting  lords  and  earls 
galore  among  them.  .  Young  Reid  was  therefore 
brought  up  like  a  gentleman  to  adorn  that  station  in 
life  unto  which  it  had  pleased  God  to  call  him,  and  in 
every  way  he  proved  worthy  of  his  sires.  His  first 
choice  of  a  profession  was  the  navy — following  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  Lord  High  Admiral  aforesaid — and  he 
learned  some  good  lessons  while  still  a  young  boy  from 
that  past  master  of  seamanship,  discipline,  and  hard, 
close  fighting,  Thomas  Truxtun,  in  whose  squadron  he 
served  as  a  midshipman  in  the  frigate  Baltimore  in  the 
French  war.  For  various  reasons,  however,  at  the 
close  of 'that  little  war  he  entered  the  mercantile  marine, 
and,  rising  rapidly  to  command  rank,  became  widely 
known  as  a  bold  and  successful  navigator  and  captain. 
About  the  middle  of  the  year  1814  he  was  given 
command,  by  her  owners,  of  the  General  Armstrong, 
a  small  New  York  privateer,  brigantine  rigged,  and 
one  of  the  smartest,  most  noted,  and  successful  of  her 
class.  She  had  already  proved,  under  her  other  gal- 
lant commanders,  that  she  could  not  only  prey  but 
fight.  She  had  just  returned  from  her  fifth  lucky 
cruise.  I  suppose  her  to  have  been  of  about  two  hun- 
dred tons  burden,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long 
over  all,  and  about  thirty  feet  in  beam.  Her  armament 
consisted  of  seven  guns — three  long  nines  in  each 
broadside  and  a  long  twenty-four  pounder  on  a  pivot 
amidships,  in  sea  parlance  a  "Long  Tom."  Her  crew 
and  officers  numbered  ninety  men.  They  had  been 
selected,  by  Reid  himself,  with  especial  care,  and  were 
probably  quite  up  to  the  high  standard  which  obtained 
on  that  most  gallant  frigate,  the  United  States  ship 


Reid  and  the  Armstrong         275 

Constitution  herself.  On  account  of  the  high  wages 
paid  and  the  liberal  prize  money  accruing  from  the 
captures  in  a  successful  cruise,  in  which  the  men  were 
all  interested,  it  was  not  difficult  to  secure  desirable 
men  for  a  crew.  Indeed,  with  the  exception  of  some 
of  the  more  famous  frigates,  the  pick  of  the  seamen 
of  the  nation  were  on  the  privateers  and  letters-of 
marque. 

The  twenty-sixth  of  September,  1814,  found  Reid 
and  the  Armstrong  at  the  island  of  Fayal,  in  the 
Azores.  He  had  run  the  blockade  off  New  York  about 
the  middle  of  the  month,  distancing  all  pursuers  by  his 
great  speed,  and  had  stopped  at  the  island  on  his  voyage 
to  the  English  Channel  for  food  and  water.  The  bay 
of  Da  Horta,  the  principal  town  and  seaport  of  the 
island  of  Fayal,  is  crescent  shaped  and  is  surrounded 
by  a  sea  wall"  with  the  old  castle  of  Santa  Cruz,  even 
then  an  obsolete  fortification,  at  the  base  of  the  cres- 
cent. Opposite  to  the  entrance  of  the  bay,  on  a  neigh- 
boring island,  boldly  rises  the  splendid  mountain  called 
Pico,  to  a  height  of  nearly  eight  thousand  feet,  and  on 
all  sides  are  lofty  mountains  and  hills  which  descend 
in  beetling  crags  and  wild  ravines  to  the  water's  edge. 

Having  speedily  fulfilled  his  errand,  the  American 
skipper  had  gone  ashore  to  call  upon  and  dine  with  the 
United  States  Consul,  Mr.  Dabney,  and  after  dinner 
had  brought  him,  and  a  party  of  gentlemen  with  him, 
off  to  inspect  his  vessel.  Just  about  sunset  the  spars 
of  a  large  brig-of-war,  flying  English  colors,  were 
discovered  making  around  the  rocky  headlands  which 
bound  the  entrance  to  the  harbor.  The  brig,  it  was 
soon  discovered,  was  followed  by  two  other  large  ships, 
still  some  distance  away.  It  was  the  first  time  any 
English  war  vessels  had  been  in  the  harbor  for  months. 


276     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

The  Portuguese  pilot  had  told  the  English  commodore 
of  the  arrival  of  the  privateer,  and  he  came  into  the 
harbor  with  his  squadron  with  the  deliberate  purpose 
of  effecting  her  capture.  . 

In  spite  of  Consul  Dabney's  assurances,  it  instantly 
occurred  to  the  wary  and  experienced  Reid  that  the 
neutrality  of  the  place  would  not  be  respected  by  the 
English.  It  seems  to  be  a  general  practice  among  na- 
tions to  disregard  the  so-called  laws  of  neutrality  with 
perfect  equanimity,  provided  they  feel  themselves  able 
and  willing  to  abide  the  consequences.  England  has 
done  it  on  several  occasions,  and  the  United  States  has 
not  hesitated  to  follow  her  example  as  late  as  in  the 
Civil  War,  so  we  can  cast  no  stones  in  this  case.  So 
Reid  sent  his  guests  post-haste  ashore,  and  began  to 
warp  his  vessel  closer  into  the  harbor.  The  English 
brig,  which  proved  to  be  the  Carnation,  eighteen  guns, 
Commander  George  Bentham,  did  not  waste  any  time. 
She  had  hardly  dropped  anchor  in  the  harbor  before  she 
exchanged  signals  with  the  other  ships,  and  then  put 
out  four  boats,  crowded  with  about  a  hundred  and 
twenty  armed  men,  who,  with  the  usual  British  intre- 
pidity, made  straight  for  the  Armstrong. 

Reid  left  the  business  of  warping  in  to  a  more  con- 
venient season,  dropped  anchor  temporarily,  called  his 
men  to  quarters,  and,  as  the  menacing  boats  rapidly 
drew  near,  he  repeatedly  hailed  them,  to  discover  their 
purpose,  warning  them  to  desist  from  their  approach 
or  come  on  at  their  peril.  There  was  not  the  least 
doubt  as  to  the  character  of  the  movement  in  any  ra- 
tional mind.  The  armed  men  were  in  plain  sight,  as 
the  moon  flooded  the  placid  waters  of  the  bay 
with  a  soft,  autumnal  splendor.  The  English  disdain- 
ing to  make  any  reply  to  his  hails  and  urging  their 


Reid  and  the  Armstrong          277 

boats  persistently  onward,  Reid  opened  the  fight  with 
a  severe,  well-directed  fire  from  the  great  guns  of  his 
battery  and  his  small  arms,  to  which  the  enemy  replied 
with  boat  guns  and  an  ineffective  musketry  fire. 

A  very  few  minutes  were  sufficient  to  determine 
this  event;  only  one  boat  touched  the  American,  and 
most  of  those  in  her  were  killed  or  wounded.  The 
other  boats  stopped  rowing,  and  the  officers  called  for 
quarter;  then,  while  Reid,  who  might  have  sunk  the 
whole  business  without  difficulty,  mercifully  held  his 
fire,  the  boats  turned  tail,  and,  with  a  large  number  of 
killed  and  wounded  on  board,  made  their  way  back  to 
the  brig.  They  had  hoped  to  carry  the  Armstrong  by 
a  coup-de-main,  but  had  met  with  a  most  discouraging 
and  costly  repulse  instead.  The  privateer  had  only 
one  man  killed,  and  her  first  lieutenant,  a  brother  of 
the  noted  General  Worth,  of  the  United  States  Army, 
severely  wounded.  Two  more  masterful  players  en- 
tered the  game  at  this  juncture,  however,  in  the  shape 
of  his  Britannic  Majesty's  frigate  Rota,  38,  Captain 
Philip  Somerville,  followed  by  his  Britannic  Majesty's 
huge  ship-of-the-line  Plantagenet,  74,  Commodore 
Robert  Lloyd,  who  commanded  the  squadron.  This 
raised  the  effective  force  of  the  enemy  to  nearly  two 
hundred  guns  and  twelve  hundred  men. 

It  was  soon  evident  that  Commodore  Lloyd  intended 
to  take  up  the  frustrated  attempt  of  the  Carnation,  for 
boats  were  called  away  from  all  three  ships  to  the  num- 
ber of  twelve.  This  statement  is  made  upon  the  testi- 
mony of  unimpeachable  witnesses,  among  them  Captain 
Reid  and  Consul  Dabney,  a  fine  old  gentleman  of  the 
highest  reputation,  who  stood  upon  shore  in  full  sight 
of  the  battle,  with  many  other  observers,  some  of 
whom  go  so  far  as  to  say  there  were  fourteen  boats, 


278     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

though  the  British  allow  there  were  but  seven.  These 
boats  were  loaded  with  nearly  four  hundred  and  fifty 
men.  They  were  towed  in  by  the  brig,  and  then  ren- 
dezvoused in  three  divisions  under  the  lee  of  the  little 
reef  just  beyond  gunshot  range  from  the  Armstrong, 
while  they  matured  their  plans  for  the  contemplated 
attack. 

Meanwhile  Reid  and  his  gallant  crew,  not  in  the 
least  alarmed  by  this  display  of  overwhelming  force, 
had  completed  their  preparations  to  receive  and  repel 
the  expected  onslaught.  The  Armstrong  had  been 
warped  within  a  short  distance  of  the  shore,  where  she 
lay  under  the  useless  and  silent  guns  of  the  Portuguese 
castle.  Two  of  the  guns  on  the  unengaged  side  of  her 
had  been  shifted  over  to  face  the  enemy,  through  ports 
cut  in  the  rail  for  them.  All  the  small  arms  in  the 
brigantine — of  which  she  had  a  great  many,  the  pistols 
actually  being  in  bucketsful — had  been  charged  and 
placed  close  at  hand.  Boarding  nettings,  made  of 
heavily  tarred  rope,  had  been  triced  up  from  one  end 
of  the  ship  to  the  other.  The  cutlasses,  boarding  axes, 
and  pikes  were  distributed  to  the  men,  who  were  all 
provided  with  steel  and  leather  boarding  caps.  Reid 
commanded  upon  the  quarter-deck,  his  lieutenants  in 
the  waist  and  forward. 

Pending  any  movement  of  the  British,  the  men 
were  allowed  to  rest  beside  the  guns,  while  the  officers 
and  a  few  of  the  older  and  more  experienced  seamen 
kept  watch.  It  was  a  strange  picture  the  stars  looked 
down  upon  that  calm  September  night.  That  little 
vessel  was  surrounded  by  grim  and  threatening  an- 
tagonists. Her  crew  was  menaced  by  an  overwhelm- 
ing force,  which  outnumbered  them  five  to  one;  yet 
we  are  told  the  hardy  men  slept  on  the  white  deck  of 


Reid  and  the  Armstrong          279 

the  privateer,  under  the  shadow  of  the  great  peaks 
and  mountains  of  the  island,  as  soundly  and  peace- 
fully as  though  they  had  been  at  home.  There  was 
something  notable,  too,  in  the  spirit  which  their 
quiet  slumber  betokened,  of  their  confidence  and 
trust  in  the  officers,  to  whom  they  looked  up  as  the 
American  sailor  has  ever  looked  up  to  those  who  led 
him.  More  notable  still  was  their  willingness  to 
fight  an  absolutely  hopeless  battle,  in  which  they  had 
everything  to  lose  and  nothing  whatever  to  gain,  ex- 
cept the  consciousness  of  having  upheld  the  honor  of 
the  American  flag  against  tremendous  odds. 

About  twelve  o'clock,  under  the  lead  of  Lieutenant 
William  Matterface,  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Plan- 
tagenet,  the  flotilla  of  boats  moved  out  around  the  reef, 
and  in  line  ahead — i.  e.,  a  long,  single  column — swept 
down  upon  the  Armstrong.  The  midshipmen  and 
other  junior  officers  ran  along  the  decks  of  the  pri- 
vateer and  awakened  the  sleeping  men,  who  sprang 
quietly  to  their  stations.  The  stillness  of  the  night 
was  broken  only  by  the  rustle  of  the  oars  in  the  row- 
locks and  the  splash  of  the  dark  water  parted  by  the 
bows  of  the  boats  or  tossed  up  in  the  air  by  the  feather- 
ing blades  of  the  oars,  to  sparkle  in  the  moonlight. 
The  men  on  the  Armstrong,  so  far  as  the  attacking 
party  could  see,  might  have  been  asleep  or  dead. 

The  shore  was  fairly  crowded  with  spectators  now, 
who  held  their  breath  while  watching  the  advance  and 
awaiting  the  denouement.  Out  in  the  harbor  the  men 
left  upon  the  ships  swarmed  in  black  clusters  in  the 
rigging  at  eager  gaze.  The  officers  of  the  English 
men-of-war  were  closely  grouped  on  the  different  quar- 
ter-decks eagerly  scanning  the  Armstrong  through 
their  night-glasses.  With  what  apprehension  Dabney 


280     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

and  his  son  and  the  few  Americans  on  shore  watched 
the  British  draw  near !  It  was  a  moment  fraught  with 
the  most  intense  anxiety.  Would  the  Armstrong 
never  fire  ?  Was  Reid  asleep  or  dead  ?  Had  she  been 
abandoned  by  her  crew  ?  Ah,  what  was  that ! 

A  flash  of  light  tore  through  the  gray  darkness.  A 
cloud  of  smoke  broke  out  amidships  on  the  privateer, 
and  a  roar  like  thunder  echoed  and  reechoed  among 
the  surrounding  hills.  "Long  Tom"  had  spoken !  The 
battle  was  on.  Before  the  echo  had  died  away  the 
other  guns  in  the  starboard  battery,  which  had  been 
trained  upon  the  advancing  line,  spoke  in  quick  succes- 
sion, and  sent  their  messengers  of  death  out  over  the 
dark  waters.  The  head  of  the  column  was  smashed  to 
pieces  by  the  discharge.  The  first  boat  was  completely 
disabled,  and  the  shower  of  American  grape  shot  did 
great  execution  all  along  the  line.  With  the  courage 
of  their  race,  the  stalwart  English  broke  into  loud 
cheers,  and,  manfully  tugging  at  the  oars,  swept 
around  the  wrecked  boat  and  dashed  into  close  action 
at  once.  The  boat  carronnades  in  the  bows  of  the 
launches  now  rang  out,  adding  their  sharp  notes  to  the 
confusion  of  the  exciting  moment,  as  they  returned 
the  Armstrong's  fire.  The  men  of  the  privateer  re- 
mained grimly  silent,  for  Reid's  command  had  been : 

"No  cheering,  lads,  till  we  have  beat  them  off  and 
gained  the  victory !" 

There  was  no  time  for  either  side  to  load  its  artil- 
lery again  before  the  first  boat  crashed  against  the 
side  of  the  privateer,  and  the  leading  man  sprang  up 
on  her  low  rail.  He  clutched  the  netting,  which  barred 
his  passage,  and  shortening  his  sword  hacked  franti- 
cally at  it.  He  was  a  fair  and  easy  mark  to  an  old  man- 
of-war's  man  on  the  brigantine,  who  buried  a  half-pike 


Reid  and  the  Armstrong          281 

deep  in  his  bosom.  He  had  scarcely  fallen  back  before 
others,  undaunted  by  his  fate,  gallantly  sprang  to  the 
rail  and  took  his  place.  Encouraged  and  led  by  their 
officers,  the  English  strove  to  board  on  every  hand, 
and  the  action  at  once  became  general.  The  boats 
ranged  themselves  about  the  engaged  side  of  the  Arm- 
strong as  hounds  surround  a  wild  boar  at  bay.  One 
division  attacked  forward,  the  other  in  the  waist,  and 
the  last  and  strongest  endeavored  to  gain  the  quarter. 

For  a  few  moments  the  roar  of  the  great  guns  was 
succeeded  by  the  sharp  crackle  of  the  small  arms,  the 
pistols  and  muskets  of  the  marines;  and  the  darkness 
was  punctured  by  vivid  flashes  of  fire,  in  lurid  contrast 
to  the  moon's  pale  light.  But  these  ringing  reports 
gradually  died  away,  and  as  there  was  no  time  to  re- 
charge the  guns  the  conflict  resolved  itself  into  an  old- 
fashioned  hand  to  hand  encounter.  There  was  dis- 
played the  old  knightly  courage  on  both  sides,  which 
had  left  a  glorious  record  of  many  a  bloody  fray  in 
centuries  of  history. 

The  cheers,  shouts,  curses,  and  groans  of  the  des- 
perate men,  mad  with  the  blood  lust  of  the  fight,  the 
ringing  of  steel  on  steel,  as  sword  gritted  against 
sword,  or  axe  crashed  on  boarding  cap,  or  bayonet 
crossed  half-pike  in  the  dreadful  fray,  filled  the  hearts 
of  the  spectators  near  by  on  the  shore  with  horror. 
The  British,  in  overwhelming  numbers,  though  at  a 
disadvantage  as  regards  position,  striving  determinedly 
to  make  good  a  footing  on  the  deck,  fought  with  the 
same  indomitable  courage  as  their  American  brethren. 
Most  gallantly  led,  again  and  again  they  sprang  at 
the  rail,  officer  after  officer  fell,  man  after  man  was 
cut  down;  the  stout  arms  of  the  privateersmen  grew 
weary  with  hacking,  and  hewing,  and  slaughtering  men. 


282     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

The  boarding  netting  was  at  last  nearly  cut  to  pieces, 
and  the  way  was  clear  for  an  entrance.  Although  the 
slight  success  came  too  late  to  be  of  much  service,  a 
lodgment  was  finally  effected  forward  in  the  forecastle 
by  way  of  the  bowsprit;  one  of  the  American  lieuten- 
ants in  command  there  had  been  killed,  the  other 
wounded. 

At  this  moment  Reid  himself,  the  only  officer  of 
rank  now  left  on  deck,  after  a  brief  rally  with  swords 
between  them,  in  which  he  was  slightly  wounded,  suc- 
ceeded in  cutting  down  Matterface,  the  English  leader, 
who  had  been  engaged  in  a  last  desperate  endeavor  to 
effect  a  lodgment  on  the  quarter-deck.  All  danger 
from  further  attack  there  was  over.  Some  of  the 
boats  of  this  division  were  sheering  off  slowly,  manned 
by  a  few  oarsmen;  others,  full  of  silent  dead  and 
shrieking  wounded,  were  aimlessly  drifting  about. 
The  party  attacking  the  waist  had  fared  little  better. 
Alarmed  by  the  cries  in  the  bows,  and  seeing  that  the 
enemy  near  him  had  been  effectively  disposed  of,  the 
captain  led  a  dashing  charge  forward,  and  speedily 
cleared  the  forecastle.  It  was  all  over.  That  was  the 
expiring  effort  of  the  British.  They  hurried  away  as 
they  were  able,  in  full  retreat.  They  had  been  totally 
beaten. 

Two  of  the  boats  were  captured,  two  of  them  had 
been  sunk,  two  others  drifted  ashore  and  were  aban- 
doned by  the  remainder  of  their  crews — all  but  three 
of  the  sixty  or  seventy  men  they  originally  contained 
being  killed  or  wounded !  In  one  of  the  boats  all  were 
killed  but  four.  Most  of  the  boats  which  escaped 
regained  their  respective  ships,  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty, in  a  sinking  condition,  not  only  from  the  fire  of 
the  American  heavy  guns,  but  on  account  of  having 


Reid  and  the  Armstrong          283 

been  stove  in  by  solid  shot  hurled  into  them  by  the 
Americans.  The  total  loss  was  at  least  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men  on  the  part  of  the  British,  nearly  half  of 
whom  were  killed  and  the  others  severely  wounded. 
The  Americans  had  two  killed  and  only  seven  wounded ! 
It  seems  incredible,  but  it  is  true,  though  the  British 
admit  only  about  half  of  the  losses  ascribed  to  them. 

This  desperate  and  bloody  action  had  lasted  forty 
minutes,  and  in  its  sanguinary  results  is  unparalleled. 
Victory  had  a  second  time  crowned  the  efforts  of  Reid 
and  his  undaunted  men.  I  picture  them,  some  pale  as 
death  from  their  exhausting  labors,  others  with  faces 
engorged  with  blood  and  trembling  still  with  the  pas- 
sion generated  in  the  fight,  grouped  about  their  heroic 
captain  on  those  bloody  decks,  looking  wildly  out  upon 
the  drifting,  shattered,  sinking  boats,  with  their  dread- 
ful cargoes.  It  was  time  now  and  they  began  cheer- 
ing madly  in  triumph  in  the  still  night.  They  had  a 
right  to  cheer.  Such  a  fight  as  they  had  fought  and 
such  a  victory  as  they  had  won  it  has  been  given  to 
but  few  on  this  earth  to  participate  in. 

Not  much  damage  had  been  done  to  the  privateer 
either.  The  boarding  netting  had  been  cut  to  pieces, 
some  of  the  guns,  including  the  "Long  Tom,"  had 
been  dismounted  by  the  shots  from  the  boat  carron- 
nacles,  but  a  few  hours  sufficed  to  put  everything  to 
rights  again.  Sending  his  dead  and  wounded  ashore, 
and  with  the  remaining  men  asleep  in  sheer  exhaustion 
at  their  quarters  again,  Reid  waited  for  the  next  move. 
At  daybreak  the  Carnation  weighed  anchor,  sheeted 
home  her  topsails,  and  got  under  way.  When  she  came 
within  range  she  opened  a  fierce  cannonade  from  her 
heavy  guns  upon  the  privateer,  which  did  much  dam- 
age to  the  vessel,  though  producing  no  casualties 


284     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

among  the  crew.  Reid  and  his  men  met  and  returned 
the  attack  with  the  same  splendid  spirit  they  had  all 
along  exhibited,  discharging  the  guns  of  their  smaller 
battery  with  a  calm  deliberation  which  enabled  them  to 
do  great  execution.  After  a  short  and  fierce  engage- 
ment the  Carnation  prudently  withdrew  from  the  com- 
bat, her  foretopmast  having  been  shot  away  and  her 
other  head-gear  much  damaged,  with  several  more  of 
her  crew  killed  and  wounded,  mainly  by  shot  from 
"Long  Tom,"  which,  carefully  and  skilfully  served, 
had  again  saved  the  day.  This  was  victory  number 
three. 

The  Portuguese  governor  meanwhile  was  protesting 
against  the  violation  of  neutrality,  and  requesting 
Commodore  Lloyd  to  desist  from  the  fighting.  He 
was  informed  in  reply  that  the  English  intended  to  cap- 
ture the  privateer  if  they  had  to  bring  the  ship-of-the- 
line  in  and  bombard  the  town  to  do  it.  Seeing  the  use- 
lessness  of  further  resistance,  and  having  maintained 
the  honor  of  the  American  flag,  as  few  men  have  been 
able  to  do,  after  fighting  a  battle  which  is  without 
parallel  in  naval  annals,  and  having  acquired  glory 
sufficient  to  satisfy  any  reasonable  man,  Reid  deter- 
mined, upon  the  advice  of  Dabney  and  others  to  sink 
his  ship,  so  the  "Long  Tom"  which  had  done  such 
splendid  execution  was  swung  in  board  and  pointed 
down  the  hatchway  and  discharged.  The  Armstrong 
went  down  from  the  shot  from  her  own  guns.  Reid 
and  his  men,  after  spiking  the  great  guns,  throwing 
overboard  the  powder  and  small  arms  and  removing 
their  private  belongings,  escaped  to  the  shore.  A  boat 
party  from  the  British  boarded  the  sinking  ship,  and 
set  what  remained  of  her  above  the  water  on  fire. 

The  loss   in   the   first   and   third   attack   probably 


Reid  and  the  Armstrong         285 

raised  the  British  total  to  nearly  three  hundred,  though 
it  had  not  increased  that  of  the  Americans.  There  are 
several  fleet  actions  on  record  in  which  the  British  won 
glorious  victories  without  inflicting  or  receiving  so 
much  damage  as  they  got  in  the  combat  with  this  little 
insignificant  privateer.  The  English  commander-in- 
chief  was  furious  with  rage  at  the  results  of  the  action, 
so  much  so  that  he  never  made  proper  report  of  it  to 
the  home  authorities,  but  the  statements  here  given  are 
supported  by  unimpeachable  evidence.  Lloyd  was  so 
angered  that  he  insisted  that  there  were  British  de- 
serters among  the  escaped  American  crew  on  shore,  and 
actually  compelled  the  Portuguese  commander  of  the 
island  to  have  the  seamen  mustered,  that  he  might  in- 
spect them.  He  didn't  find  any  deserters,  or  at  least 
he  did  not  try  to  take  any,  which  showed  a  late  dis- 
cretion on  his  part.  One  of  two  ships-of-war  which 
soon  joined  Lloyd's  squadron  was  finally  sent  back  to 
England  with  the  wounded. 

The  action  had  an  importance  far  beyond  its  imme- 
diate results  in  this  way :  The  three  English  ships  were 
destined  to  form  a  part  of  the  fleet  rendezvousing  at 
Jamaica  to  convey  Pakenham's  army  of  Wellington's 
veterans  to  the  attack  on  New  Orleans.  A  delay  of 
ten  clays  was  caused  by  the  necessity  of  burying  the 
dead,  attending  the  wounded,  and  repairing  the  brig 
and  boats  at  Fayal,  consequently  the  fleet  at  Jamaica, 
which  this  squadron  finally  joined,  was  also  delayed 
ten  days  in  its  departure,  to  the  great  indignation  of  its 
admiral.  This  was  just  the  time  that  was  required 
to  permit  the  doughty  Andrew  Jackson  to  assemble 
that  army  and  make  those  preparations  by  which  he 
was  enabled  to  win  one  of  the  most  astonishing  vic- 
tories that  was  ever  achieved  upon  the  land,  so  that 


286     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

the  stout  and  hard  fighting  of  Reid  and  the  men  of  the 
General  Armstrong  proved  of  incalculable  service  to 
their  country.  Moral :  It  is  always  best  for  the  fighter 
to  fight  to  the  end,  whatever  the  odds;  for  upon  the 
action  of  the  moment  the  whole  future  may  depend. 

Reid  himself  was  received  with  the  greatest  honor 
on  his  return  to  America,  and  the  usual  rewards  in  the 
way  of  swords,  pieces  of  plate,  banquets,  etc.,  were 
showered  upon  him.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  in  his 
subsequent  history  that  he  made  the  design  for  the 
present  American  flag;  heretofore  a  star  and  a  stripe 
had  been  added  for  every  new  State,  and  it  was  due  to 
his  suggestion  that  the  flag  took  its  present  shape.  For 
this  he  was  thanked  by  Congress.  Later  in  his  life  he 
was  placed  upon  the  navy  list  and  retired.  After  this 
he  lived  a  long  life  of  eminent  usefulness  in  New  York, 
where  he  was  held  in  the  highest  respect  and  honor. 
His  funeral,  in  1861,  was  a  national  affair,  and  some 
of  his  immediate  descendants  are  still  living.  As  a 
specimen  of  a  bold,  daring  seaman,  a  magnificent 
fighter,  a  true  patriot,  and  a  high-toned  gentleman,  he 
ranks  with  the  very  best,  and  no  one  should  stand 
higher  in  the  affections  of  the  people  of  the  land 
than  he. 

"  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  received  word  from  a  creditable  source 
that  in  the  first  attack  one  of  the  boats  had  its  bottom  stove  by  the  fall  of  a 
grindstone  which  had  been  balanced  on  the  rail,  and  rolled  into  the  boat 
by  a  sailor  named  Granniss." 


THE  DEFENSE  OF  LOUISIANA— THE 
LAST  BATTLE  WITH  ENGLAND 


AT  half  after  one  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  December 
23,  1814,  a  little  party  of  officers  in  the  parlor  of  a 
dwelling  house  used  as  headquarters,  on  Royal  Street, 
New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  who  were  earnestly  engaged 
in  conversation,  were  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of 
three  gentlemen,  who  had  galloped  post-haste  to  the 
door.  One  of  them  wore  the  brilliant  uniform  of  the 
Louisiana  Creole  Light  Infantry.  The  other  two 
were  older  men,  evidently  planters.  The  young  offi- 
cer was  Major  Gabriel  Villere.  He  bore  startling 
news,  which  he  proceeded  to  tell  in  French,  as  he  was 
unable  to  speak  English,  one  of  the  planters  interpret- 
ing for  him. 

He  said  that  the  little  outpost  guarding  Bayou  Bien- 
venu  had  been  surprised  that  morning,  and  subse- 
quently he  himself  and  all  his  people  had  been  captured 
on  the  Villere  plantation,  his  father's  home;  but  that, 
being  negligently  guarded,  he  had  seized  a  horse,  gal- 
loped away  under  a  shower  of  balls,  and  escaped.  The 
British  were  out  in  full  force  about  ten  miles  away, 
and  were  marching  up  the  dry  ground  between  the 

287 


288     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

river  and  the  morasses  inland.  If  they  continued  their 
inarch  they  might  probably  reach  the  city  of  New  Or- 
leans that  night. 

"By  the  Eternal !"  said  the  chief  of  the  officers  in 
the  room,  Andrew  Jackson,  of  Tennessee,  a  very  tall 
and  very  thin  man,  with  reddish-gray  hair  brushed 
straight  up  from  his  high  forehead,  his  piercing  blue 
eyes  sparkling  with  fire  and  determination — "by  the 
Eternal,"  he  repeated,  bringing  his  hand  down  upon  the 
table,  "they  shall  not  sleep  upon  our  soil  this  night !" 

The  man  was  dreadfully  emaciated,  worn  to  a  skele- 
ton by  wasting  disease,  utterly  broken  in  health,  and 
at  that  moment  suffering  from  a  dreadful  wound  in  the 
shoulder,  which  had  been  inflicted  months  before  in  a 
duel  and  which  prevented  him  from  ever  wearing  the 
heavy  bullion  epaulet  of  his  rank,  which  was  that  of 
Major-General  in  the  Regular  Army  of  the  United 
States.  But  such  greatness  of  spirit  looked  out  of  his 
eyes,  such  indomitable  resolution  was  evidenced  by  the 
straight,  tense  lines  of  his  mouth  and  his  square  jaws 
that  it  was  easy  to  see  that  here  was  a  man  who  would 
exercise  command,  sickness  or  no  sickness,  until  he 
was  laid  in  his  grave. 

He  had  enjoyed  no  opportunity  for  perfecting  him- 
self in  the  technical  art  of  soldiering;  true,  as  a  boy, 
he  had  fought  in  the  partizan  warfare  which  devas- 
tated the  Carolinas  in  the  Revolution,  during  which  he 
had  been  wounded,  captured,  starved — he  knew  all 
about  that  part  of  it.  He  had  learned  to  look  into  the 
cold  barrel  of  a  pistol  without  flinching,  too,  through 
many  duels,  some  of  them  dreadful  in  character,  in 
which  he  had  been  a  principal.  He  had  been  a  Mem- 
ber of  Congress,  a  Senator,  and  United  States  District 
Attorney,  when  to  be  a  district  attorney  on  the  fron- 


The  Defense  of  Louisiana         289 

tiers  was  to  invite  destruction.  He  had  just  termi- 
nated successfully,  after  unheard-of  hardships  and  the 
exhibition  of  the  most  heroic  resolution  and  courage, 
one  of  the  most  famous  campaigns  ever  carried  on 
against  the  Indians,  and  for  this  had  been  made  the 
junior  Major-General  in  the  Regular  Army. 

He  had  come  to  New  Orleans,  on  the  second  of  De- 
cember, fresh  from  the  conquest  of  Pensacola,  which 
he  had  taken  by  storm  from  the  Spaniards  because  the 
place  had  been  .used  by  the  British  as  a  base  from  which 
to  make  forays  and  incursions  into  the  American  terri- 
tory. Incidentally,  also,  the  troops  under  his  com- 
mand had  repulsed  a  British  attack  on  Mobile,  Major 
Lawrence,  at  Fort  Bowyer,  having  beaten  off  four  Brit- 
ish ships-of-war  and  a  landing  party  of  six  hundred 
men,  one  of  the  British  ships  being  burned  and  sunk 
after  heavy  loss  in  men. 

The  spirit  of  the  people  of  New  Orleans  was  very 
high,  but  they  were  without  a  head,  and  they  wel- 
comed the  advent  of  the  general  from  Tennessee  with 
the  greatest  joy,  seconding  his  efforts  for  the  raising 
and  equipment  of  an  army  for  the  defense  of  the  city 
in  every  possible  way.  Jackson  was  a  natural  leader, 
popular  with  his  men,  and  knew  instinctively  the  best 
disposition  to  make  of  the  motley  forces  under  his  com- 
mand. When  Villere  brought  the  news  all  the  avail- 
able troops,  amounting  to  but  three  or  four  thousand 
men,  including  the  militia,  were  in  camp  north  of  the 
city.  Messengers  were  sent  galloping  in  every  direc- 
tion, bidding  them  take  up  the  line  of  march.  They 
responded  to  their  orders  with  alacrity,  and  the  roads 
were  soon  covered  with  armed  men  marching  gaily 
through  the  city  toward  the  south. 

On  the  river  there  were  two  armed  vessels,  a  sloop- 


290    American  Fights  and  Fighters 

of-war,  the  Louisiana,  commanded  by  Commodore 
Patterson,  and  the  schooner  Carolina,  Captain  Henly, 
whom  we  saw  at  Lake  Champlain.  Word  was  des- 
patched to  the  ships,  and  they  immediately  cleared  for 
action  and  dropped  down  the  river.  They  were  im- 
portant factors  in  Jackson's  brilliant  plan  of  attack. 
The  news  brought  by  Major  Villere  was  alarming  in 
the  last  degree.  The  troops  he  had  seen  were  an  ad- 
vance guard  of  two  thousand  men  of  a  powerful  Brit- 
ish army  five  times  as  great.  They  had  appeared  in 
their  ships  a  few  days  before  off  the  Passes  in  the  Delta, 
through  which  the  Mississippi  gains  the  sea.  There 
were  over  fifty  vessels  in  the  convoy,  including  the 
powerful  fleet  of  Admiral  Cockburn's  ships-of-the-line. 
They  had  sailed  from  Jamaica  a  month  before  bearing 
a  large  army  of  Wellington's  veterans  which  had  been 
transported  thither  from  their  successful  maraud  in 
Virginia  and  Maryland,  which  had  resulted  in  the  cap- 
ture and  destruction  of  Washington,  to  which  point 
they  had  come  straight  from  the  Garonne.  Ross,  their 
commander,  had  been  killed  before  Baltimore,  and 
Brigadier-General  Keane,  a  younger  soldier,  was  in 
charge.  Reinforcements  and  other  generals  were  even 
then  speeding  across  the  water  as  fast  as  wind  could 
drive  them. 

There  was  no  way  to  take  the  ships-of-the-line,  or 
even  the  frigates  and  transports,  up  the  river,  and  if 
the  city  was  to  be  captured  by  the  troops  their  only 
mode  of  access  to  it  would  be  by  Lakes  Borgne  and 
Ponchartrain.  To  prevent  this,  there  was  a  little 
American  force  on  Lake  Borgne  consisting  of  five  gun- 
boats, each  carrying  one  heavy  gun  and  several  smaller 
ones,  and  manned  by  from  twenty  to  thirty  men,  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant  Thomas  ap-Catesby  Jones, 


The  Defense  of  Louisiana         291 

the  third  officer  of  that  name  to  distinguish  himself  in 
the  early  service.  His  total  force  amounted  to  less 
than  two  hundred  men  and  fourteen  available  guns  in 
broadside. 

The  British  attacked  him  with  forty-two  boats,  car- 
rying as  many  guns  and  over  one  thousand  men. 
There  was  absolutely  no  hope  of  successful  resistance, 
yet  no  one  thought  of  surrender  or  flight,  and  there 
was  a  hotly  contested  battle  on  the  lake,  in  which  sev- 
eral of  the  British  boats  were  sunk  with  heavy  loss, 
but  which  finally  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the  entire 
American  flotilla,  after  a  series  of  desperate  hand  to 
hand  conflicts,  in  which  the  Americans  were  overpow- 
ered by  force  of  numbers  and  only  gave  way  when 
nearly  one  fourth  of  them  had  been  killed  or  wounded, 
among  the  latter  being  their  gallant  commander. 

The  British  then  surprised  the  picket  post  on  Bayou 
Bienvenu,  and  marched  up  the  river  on  the  only  firm 
ground  in  that  part  of  the  country.  If  Keane  had 
pushed  on  vigorously  after  the  escape  of  Major  Vil- 
lere,  instead  of  halting  to  entrench  and  reconnoiter,  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  he  would  have  effected  the 
capture  of  the  unprepared  city  at  once.  Jackson's 
quick  decision  to  attack  him  without  delay,  which  usu- 
ally receives  but  little  attention  in  the  consideration 
exacted  by  the  greater  battle  which  followed,  was  more 
of  an  indication  of  the  high  natural  military  instinct 
which  he  possessed  than  anything  else  in  his  life. 

The  land  upon  which  the  British  were  encamped  was 
samewhat  lower  than  the  level  of  the  great  Mississippi, 
which  was  here  confined  by  immense  retaining  walls 
of  earth  called  levees.  About  half  after  seven  in  the 
evening  the  British  pickets  on  the  levee  noticed  a 
schooner  dropping  silently  down  the  river,  grim  and 


292     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

ghostlike  in  the  night.  The  boat  was  hailed,  and  one 
or  two  muskets  were  fired  at  her,  but  no  answer  was 
elicited.  She  came  to  anchor  opposite  the  camp,  de- 
liberately made  her  preparations,  and  then  the  aston- 
ished sentries  heard  a  stout  voice  cry,  "Give  them  this, 
lads,  for  the  honor  of  the  United  States !" 

The  sides  of  the  schooner  burst  into  flame,  and  a 
whole  broadside  of  grape  at  short  range  was  poured 
into  the  crowded  British  camp.  Numbers  clustered 
about  the  campfires  were  killed  or  wounded.  The 
eager  men  tramped  out  the  fires  as  if  by  magic,  and 
sought  instant  shelter  from  the  deadly  rain  of  shot 
which  came  from  the  Carolina's  guns  by  crouching 
under  the  lee  of  the  river  embankment.  There  were 
but  two  guns  in  the  camp,  little  three-pounders,  and 
about  as  efficient  as  popguns  under  the  circumstances. 
There  was  nothing  for  the  English  to  do  but  to  hide 
away  and  bide  their  time.  So  long  as  they  remained 
under  the  cover  of  the  levee  they  were  reasonably  safe, 
though  they  could  get  nothing  to  eat  and  could  not 
occupy  their  tents.  They  were  good  soldiers,  how- 
ever, and  made  the  best  of  their  situation,  philosophi- 
cally disposing  themselves  to  pass  the  night  in  their  un- 
comfortable position  as  best  they  could. 

Their  rest,  if  they  got  any,  was  interrupted  by  a 
rifle  shot  from  the  landward  flank  of  their  position 
about  eight  o'clock  at  night.  The  shot  was  succeeded 
by  another  and  another,  and  then  by  a  perfect  fusillade 
of  small  arms  from  all  sides.  It  was  Jackson  deliver- 
ing his  attack.  He  had  skilfully  disposed  his  men  so 
as  to  surround  the  enemy.  Though  his  total  force  was 
no  greater  than  the  British,  the  latter  were  cornered. 
Necessarily,  since  the  Americans  had  arrived  on  the 
scene,  the  fire  of  the  Carolina  was  stopped.  The  Brit- 


The  Defense  of  Louisiana         293 

ish  soon  found  this  out,  and  rushed  to  meet  their  mid- 
night assailants  with  their  usual  dogged  courage. 
Then  ensued  in  that  darkness  a  demoniacal  struggle, 
utterly  unlike  any  battle  that  had  occurred  heretofore 
on  the  continent.  Rain  fell  in  torrents.  Firearms 
became  useless,  and  the  bayonets  of  the  English  crossed 
the  long  hunting  knives  of  the  Kentuckians  in  a  deadly 
death  grapple  in  the  black  air,  in  the  series  of  bitter 
hand  to  hand  conflicts. 

The  general  and  his  staff  were  in  the  thick  of  it  all, 
and  he  was  personally  engaged.  After  continuing  the 
struggle  for  several  hours,  Jackson  drew  off  his  troops, 
in  fairly  good  order,  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  retreated  a  few  miles  up  the  river  behind  the 
Rodriguez  Canal,  an  abandoned  watercourse,  and  en- 
trenched himself  at  the  narrowest  pass,  where  the  dis- 
tance between  the  river  bank  and  the  impassable  mo- 
rass was  the  shortest.  The  Carolina,  now  seconded 
by  the  Louisiana,  opened  fire  again,  and  once  more 
dominated  the  situation.  Jackson  had  effected  his  ob- 
ject. With  a  loss  of  about  three  hundred  men  he  had 
paralyzed  the  advance  of  the  British  army.  They 
would  remain  where  they  were,  he  felt  certain,  and 
make  no  offensive  movement  whatever  until  reinforce- 
ments were  brought  up,  and  that  would  give  him  what 
he  most  earnestly  desired,  and  what  is  of  vital  impor- 
tance to  every  military  commander — time. 

The  British  had  lost  over  five  hundred  in  killed  and 
wounded  in  this  audacious  attack,  and  were  so  thor- 
oughly and  completely  astonished  by  their  rough  hand- 
ling that  they  dreamed  of  nothing  but  holding  their 
position  and  sending  for  reinforcements ;  all  idea  of  ad- 
vance was  abandoned.  It  was  no  use  even  to  consider 
it.  for  the  American  ships  made  a  direct  target  out  of 


294     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

every  individual  who  ventured  to  show  himself  for  a 
moment  behind  the  levee. 

The  British  soldiers  were  the  best  on  earth  and  Jack- 
son knew  that  his  troops — with  the  possible  exception 
of  the  Tennesseans — who  were  all  of  them  without 
bayonets,  could  never  have  met  them  in  the  open  with 
any  prospect  of  success ;  therefore  he  contented  himself 
with  strengthening  his  entrenchments,  assiduously 
drilling  his  men  constantly  in  such  military  tactics  as 
he  was  familiar  with  himself,  and  in  sending  expresses 
and  requisitions  for  help  and  supplies  in  every  di- 
rection. 

The  militia  of  Louisiana  turned  out  nobly.  So,  by 
the  way,  did  La  Fitte,  the  last  of  the  buccaneers  and 
his  pirate  crew.  The  citizens  were  fighting  in  de- 
fense of  their  homes.  It  was  well  understood  that  if 
New  Orleans,  which  was  then  a  populous  and 
wealthy  city  of  some  thirty  thousand  people,  and  a 
place  of  the  greatest  commercial  importance,  for  the 
whole  trade  of  the  Mississippi  valley  passed  through  it, 
were  captured,  that  it  was  to  be  sacked  by  the  soldiery. 
If  one  wishes  to  know  to  what  excesses  the  British 
soldiery  could  descend  in  the  sacking  of  a  town  he  need 
only  read  the  descriptions  of  similar  affairs  by  Lord 
Napier  in  his  great  "Peninsula  Campaign."  The  sol- 
diers of  Tilly,  at  the  famous  storming  of  Magdeburg, 
could  not  have  been  more  lustful,  brutal,  wanton  and 
ferocious.  Said  British  soldiery  at  that  time  could 
almost  have  given  pointers  to  a  Geronimo  Apache. 

The  main  reliance  of  Jackson,  however,  was  upon 
the  famous  riflemen  from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 
under  Coffey  and  Carroll.  They  knew  little  about 
manceuvers  or  tactics.  The  school  of  the  soldier  was 
a  thing  of  which  they  had  heard  little,  and  about  which 


.The  Defense  of  Louisiana         295 

they  cared  less ;  but  they  could  shoot  and  shoot  straight 
and  shoot  fast  and  keep  it  up.  Nothing  could  exceed 
their  courage.  They  had  fought  under  their  general 
before  and  knew  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  They 
loved  him  even  for  his  faults  and  the  enemies  he  had 
made,  and  most  excellently  officered,  could  be  depended 
upon  to  the  last  gasp.  There  was  also  a  small  but 
efficient  contingent  of  regular  troops. 

Matters  remained  in  statu  quo  for  two  days,  until 
Christmas,  when  Sir  Edward  Pakenham,  a  brother-in- 
law  to  the  Iron  Duke,  arrived  from  England  to  take 
command  of  the  army.  He  was  accompanied  by  Gen- 
eral Samuel  Gibbs,  and  was  followed  soon  after  by 
General  John  Lambert,  with  several  regiments  of  men 
who,  with  the  officers  named,  were  all  veterans  and  had 
been  taught  in  the  splendid  school  of  Wellington. 

Pakenham  had  especially  distinguished  himself  in 
the  Peninsula.  He  was  a  man  of  the  highest  personal 
gallantry  and  much  military  skill  and  experience.  At 
the  Battle  of  Salamanca,  the  charge  which  he  led  at  the 
head  of  his  division  had  saved  the  day.  He  expected 
to  make  an  easy  conquest  of  the  "backwoods  general" 
and  add  new  laurels  to  his  wreath  by  the  capture  of 
New  Orleans.  A  peerage  would  probably  reward  his 
success. 

He  found  Keane's  army  still  clinging  desperately  to 
the  lee  side  of  the  levee.  Under  his  orders  a  battery  of 
heavy  guns  was  landed  from  the  ships,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  26th  they  set  fire  to  the  Carolina  with 
red  hot  shot.  She  was  windbound  at  the  time  and 
after  making  a  gallant  defense  with  the  single  long 
gun  which  would  bear,  she  blew  up.  The  Louisiana, 
further  away,  managed  to  tow  out  of  range  and  es- 
cape. 


296     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

Pakenham  then  determined  upon  a  reconnoissance 
in  force.  There  were  some  plantation  buildings  in 
front  of  the  American  line,  and  as  his  troops  came 
marching  along  the  level  ground  on  the  morning  of 
the  twenty-eighth  of  December  they  were  concealed 
until  they  advanced  beyond  the  buildings.  As  soon 
as  they  passed  them  they  were  met  by  such  a  discharge 
of  artillery  as  convinced  Pakenham  that  the  works 
were  far  stronger  than  he  had  anticipated.  The  build- 
ings were  set  on  fire  by  the  American  shot.  After 
marching  his  men  up  to  the  old  canal  in  front  of  the 
American  fortifications,  losing  many  of  them  by  the 
way,  the  troops  withdrew,  having  effected  nothing  be- 
yond informing  themselves  of  the  strength  of  the 
American  position.  This  affair  is  sometimes  called 
the  Battle  of  Chalmette's  plantation. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  river  the  navy  had  erected 
a  formidable  water  battery  by  landing  some  of  the 
Louisiana's  heavy  guns,  which  enfiladed  and  thus  pro- 
tected the  front  of  Jackson's  entrenchments.  Jackson 
himself  had  a  motley  lot  of  artillery  mounted  be- 
tween embrasures  made  of  cotton  bales,  the  heaviest 
gun  being  an  old  thirty-two-pounder.  Pakenham 
now  resolved  to  begin  a  regular  siege  of  the  American 
position.  Consequently  very  early  in  the  morning  of 
January  I,  1815,  his  troops  advanced  silently  to  within 
three  hundred  yards  of  the  American  entrenchments, 
and  cautiously  opened  a  parallel.  Their  fortifications 
were  made  of  barrels  of  sugar,  of  which  there  were  a 
great  number  in  the  various  plantations. 

When  the  fog  lifted  about  ten  o'clock  the  Americans, 
who  were  holding  dress  parade  in  front  of  their  en- 
trenchments in  honor  of  New  Year's  Day,  were  aston- 
ished to  see  the  frowning  batteries  of  the  British. 


The  Defense  of  Louisiana         297 

They  scampered  back  in  hot  haste  to  their  positions, 
and  a  cannonade  immediately  began,  which  lasted  the 
greater  part  of  the  morning.  The  British  guns  were 
silenced,  the  sugar  barrels  were  knocked  to  pieces,  and 
proved  no  protection  whatever.  The  Louisiana  and 
the  water  battery  on  the  other  side  had  done  dreadful 
execution  with  their  raking  fire.  Pakenham  withdrew 
his  troops  at  once,  and  succeeded,  through  the  gal- 
lantry of  some  of  the  seamen  of  the  ships,  in  saving 
all  his  guns.  On  the  American  side  the  cotton  bales 
forming  the  embrasures  were  set  on  fire  or  knocked  out 
of  place,  and  were  afterward  supplanted  by  the  soft, 
muddy  earth  of  the  Delta. 

The  American  mounted  riflemen  now  harassed  the 
British  camp  continually  on  every  side.  The  life  of  a 
sentry  on  the  picket  line  was  always  in  jeopardy.  For- 
aging was  decidedly  unsafe.  The  Louisiana  and  the 
water  batteries  sent  balls  from  their  long  guns  toward 
the  British  camp  at  regular  intervals  day  and  night, 
so  that  the  men  got  neither  sleep  nor  rest.  Pakenham 
and  his  lieutenants  chafed  under  the  annoying  position, 
and,  irritated  by  the  taunts  of  that  valiant  house- 
burner,  Admiral  Cockburn,  who  threatened  to  land  his 
marines  and  do  up  the  job  himself,  they  at  last  resolved 
upon  a  final  attempt. 

Pakenham's  plan  was  an  excellent  one — indeed,  the 
only  possible  one  under  the  circumstances.  He  deter- 
mined to  detach  a  large  body  of  men  under  Colonel 
Thornton,  one  of  his  most  efficient  officers,  and  send 
them  across  the  river  to  capture  the  water  battery  and 
the  Louisiana,  which  were  defended  by  about  a  thou- 
sand inefficient  militiamen,  then  turn  their  guns  upon 
Jackson's  line,  upon  which,  with  the  balance  of  his 
army,  he  would  deliver  a  direct  assault  in  force.  In 


298     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

order  to  get  the  boats  of  the  ships  into  the  Mississippi 
to  ferry  over  the  troops,  a  canal  was  cut  through  from 
Lake  Borgne,  with  great  labor,  by  the  soldiers. 

The  morning  of  January  8,  1815  (Sunday),  was 
selected  for  the  attack.  When  Thornton  reached  the 
canal,  however,  he  found  that  instead  of  boats  for  fif- 
teen hundred  men  he  only  had  transportation  for  about 
four  hundred.  He  was  delayed  in  getting  even  those 
in  motion  by  the  caving  in  of  the  banks  of  the  canal, 
and  when  he  reached  the  Mississippi  he  was  swept 
down  for  two  miles  below  his  projected  landing  place 
by  the  swift  current.  Pakenham,  meanwhile,  ignorant 
of  all  these  mishaps,  had  put  his  army  in  motion,  and 
had  crept  slowly  up  toward  the  American  works  in 
the  gray  of  the  morning.  It  was  four  o'clock  when 
the  British  columns  reached  their  designated  positions. 
They  waited  and  waited  in  vain  for  the  signal  from 
Thornton  to  begin  the  attack. 

Three  thousand  men,  under  Generals  Gibbs  and 
Keane,  were  to  assault  the  left  of  the  American  line; 
one  thousand  men,  led  by  Colonel  Rennie,  were  to  at- 
tack the  right;  the  Ninety-third  Highlanders,  eight 
hundred  strong,  a  splendid  regiment  of  hard-praying 
and  hard-fighting  Caledonians,  just  in  from  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  under  Colonel  Dale,  were  to  attack  the 
center;  and  a  reserve  of  two  regiments,  about  fifteen 
hundred  strong,  under  General  Lambert,  were  to  fol- 
low up  whichever  one  of  the  attacks  was  the  most  suc- 
cessful. Pakenham  had  been  told  by  a  deserter  that 
the  left  of  the  American  line  was  the  weakest  point, 
which  was  true  at  the  time.  Jackson,  however,  had 
fortunately  reinforced  it  on  the  day  before  the  battle 
with  a  strong  body  of  the  Tennessee  riflemen. 

As  the  mists  rolled  away  the  Americans  saw  the 


The  Defense  of  Louisiana         299 

vivid  scarlet  lines  of  the  British  advancing  upon  them. 
It  was  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Pakenham  had  to 
attack  now.  He  was  already  within  range,  and  a  re- 
treat was  not  to  be  thought  of.  Besides,  the  idea  of 
defeat  never  entered  his  head.  What,  the  finest  sol- 
diers in  the  world  to  be  stopped  or  defeated  by  a  lot 
of  volunteers,  militiamen,  backwoodsmen  ?  Nonsense ! 
Forward  was  the  word ! 

The  head  of  Gibbs'  column  was  led  by  the  Forty- 
fourth  regiment,  under  Colonel  Mullens,  who  had  been 
ordered  to  provide  the  fascines  and  scaling  ladders,  to 
enable  them  to  cross  the  ditch  and  mount  the  walls. 
The  regiment,  badly  commanded,  passed  by  the  place 
of  storage  in  the  darkness,  and  had  failed  to  bring  up 
the  ladders;  and  General  Gibbs,  promising  to  hang 
Colonel  Mullens  after  the  action,  had  sent  them  back 
at  the  double  quick  to  procure  them.  They  now  came 
straggling  back  in  great  disorder,  with  only  a  few  lad- 
ders. The  troops  meanwhile  were  steadily  advancing 
in  the  face  of  such  a  hellish  fire  as  few  troops  have 
ever  attempted  to  withstand.  The  great  thirty-two- 
pounder,  charged  with  musket  balls  to  the  very  muz- 
zle, actually  tore  up  the  head  of  the  column. 

The  continuous  crackle  of  the  small  arms  and  the 
deep  roar  of  the  great  guns  filled  the  air  with  stunning 
sound.  The  cloud  of  smoke  over  the  American  lines 
was  lined  and  seamed  with  streaks  of  fire,  and  the 
lightning  itself,  was  not  more  swift  and  deadly  than 
the  leaden  messengers  which  leaped  from  it.  Grape 
and  solid  shot  ripped  long  lanes  through  the  advancing 
soldiery,  but  they  still  came  on !  It  was  magnificent ! 
Reaching  the  edge  of  the  ditch,  they  were  in  point- 
blank  range  of  the  deadly  American  riflemen.  Mul- 
lens and  his  men  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  There 


300     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

were  no  ladders,  no  fascines,  no  anything.  No  troops 
that  lived  could  stand  the  steady,  awful  fire  of  the 
Tennesseans.  In  the  face  of  that  blasting  storm  of 
death  they  stopped,  faltered,  broke,  and  ran. 

The  officers  recklessly  and  heroically  strove  to  re- 
form them  and  lead  them  on.  They  were  shot  down 
like  sheep  in  their  brave  efforts.  Gibbs  came  up  to 
Pakenham  weeping  and  crying. 

"The  men  will  not  follow  me,"  he  said  brokenly. 
"I  can't  get  them  to  come  on." 

"Here  comes  the  Ninety-third,"  said  Pakenham, 
looking  at  the  splendid  regiment  of  Highlanders  ad- 
vancing coolly  in  the  awful  confusion.  "Rally  on  the 
Ninety-third !"  he  cried,  darting  in  among  the  retreat- 
ing men,  followed  by  the  officers  of  his  staff.  They 
finally  succeeded  in  checking  the  backward  movement, 
the  brave  men  fell  into  line  once  more,  faced  the  other 
way  slowly,  and  began  another  desperate  advance. 

On  the  other  flank  a  small  redoubt  in  front  of  Jack- 
son's lines  was  captured  by  Rennie's  men  after  a  furi- 
ous little  combat,  but  not  until  every  one  of  the  few 
defenders  was  killed  or  wounded.  The  guns  were 
then  turned  upon  the  American  line.  Rennie  and  a 
few  of  his  men  made  for  the  ditch  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  black  regiment  from  the  West  Indies,  which 
was  to  lead,  failed  miserably  at  this  juncture,  behaving 
quite  as  badly  as  the  Forty-fourth.  There  were  no 
ladders,  no  fascines  here  either.  Nevertheless,  Rennie 
and  a  few  men  struggled  across  the  ditch,  and  the  col- 
onel, the  major,  and  one  other  officer  mounted  the 
works  crying,  "Surrender!"  They  were  shot  dead  the 
instant  their  heads  appeared  over  the  parapets,  and 
their  bodies  fell  inward.  The  attack  was  broken,  the 
regiments  were  actually  crumpled  up  by  the  fierce,  rapid 


M     " 


The  Defense  of  Louisiana         301 

firing  of  the  Americans  until  they  too  fled — all  who 
were  able,  that  is. 

Thornton,  on  the  other  bank  of  the  river,  had  at 
last  come  up  and  had  captured  the  American  position 
with  the  loss  of  about  one  hundred  of  his  men,  mainly 
inflicted  by  the  American  naval  contingent.  Most  of 
the  militia  behaved  disgracefully,  and  fled  without  fir- 
ing a  shot.  On  that  side  the  river  only  six  Americans 
were  killed.  Thornton's  success  came  too  late  to  be 
of  service. 

Meanwhile,  Pakenham,  Gibbs  and  Keane  led  the 
new  attack  forward,  with  the  magnificent  Scotsmen  in 
the  advance — a  forlorn  hope,  a  desperate  venture. 
They  had  seen  hot,  hard  fighting  in  Spain;  never  had 
they  met  anything  like  this.  There  was  no  lack  of 
Anglo-Saxon  courage  there.  Valor  teemed  upon  the 
field,  but  the  trouble  was  that  it  was  on  both  sides  of 
the  redoubt.  The  men  came  slowly,  with  fixed  bayo- 
nets, grim  determination  in  their  white  faces.  They 
were  waited  for  by  the  cool  American  commander. 
Again  the  word  was  given.  Again  the  low,  black, 
muddy  redoubt  of  the  Americans  was  tipped  with 
vivid,  death-dealing  flame.  The  advancing  troops 
were  mowed  down  in  sheets. 

"Shame,  shame!"  cried  Pakenham.  intercepting 
those  who  would  fain  retreat.  "This  is  the  way. 
Forward  !  Forward !"  he  cried,  beating  the  reluctant 
men  with  his  sword.  "Order  up  the  reserve !"  he  said 
to  his  aide,  who  galloped  madly  away. 

When  the  officer  delivered  the  order  to  Lambert, 
who  was  watching  the  dreadful  carnage  with  feelings 
of  sickening  horror,  he  ordered  the  bugler  to  sound 
the  advance.  The  men  sprang  to  their  feet,  waiting  the 
signal,  when  a  solid  shot  tore  the  trumpet  from  the 


302     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

bugler's  lips  before  he  had  made  a  note.  Ere  he 
could  procure  another  bugle  the  battle  was  over,  and 
to  put  in  the  reserve  would  be  only  to  devote  more  men 
to  destruction. 

Pakenham's  arm  was  shattered,  his  horse  was  killed 
under  him,  but,  forgetful  of  everything  but  the  battle, 
he  mounted  another  and,  waving  his  sword,  rode  on, 
encouraging  his  troops  until  he  was  hurled  from  his 
saddle  and  instantly  killed  by  another  bullet.  Keane 
fell  desperately  hurt.  Gibbs  was  mortally  wounded, 
and  carried  reluctantly  from  the  field.  Colonel  Dale, 
at  the  head  of  the  Highlanders,  was  shot  dead.  Offi- 
cer after  officer  was  killed.  The  splendid  Ninety-third 
marched  up  to  the  edge  of  the  ditch  and  stood  there, 
unable  to  go  forward,  too  proud  to  retreat — an  heroic 
example  of  veteran  soldiery.  They  won  a  deathless 
name  on  that  field.  Finally,  with  less  than  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  men  out  of  nearly  eight  hundred,  the 
Highlanders  slowly  retired.  The  rest  of  the  army  had 
long  since  fled.  Less  than  half  an  hour  had  ended  it 
all.  Half  the  American  force  had  not  been  engaged. 

Jackson  immediately  despatched  a  large  body  of 
troops  across  the  river  to  oust  Thornton,  but  before 
the  Americans  could  deliver  their  attack  Thornton, 
under  orders  from  Lambert,  who  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  beaten  army,  abandoned  the  position. 
The  British  retreated  precipitately  to  their  ships  a  few 
days  later,  leaving  behind  those  of  their  wounded  un- 
able to  be  moved,  and  many  guns  and  supplies.  Lam- 
bert conducted  the  retreat  so  skilfully  that  he  was  re- 
warded by  a  baronetcy  when  he  returned  to  England. 

The  British  loss  in  this  battle  was  seven  hundred 
killed,  fourteen  hundred  wounded,  and  five  hundred 
prisoners ;  a  total  loss  of  twenty-six  hundred  in  twenty- 
five  minutes — over  one  and  a  half  per  second !  In- 


The  Defense  of  Louisiana         303 

credible?  True!  The  American  loss  was  but  eight 
killed  and  fourteen  wounded,  mostly  in  the  redoubt 
captured  by  Rennie!  These  figures  take  no  account 
of  Thornton's  attack.  The  British  loss  in  the  whole 
campaign  was  over  thirty-five  hundred  men,  the 
American  about  three  hundred,  the  number  engaged  in 
the  campaign  being  about  ten  thousand  for  the  British 
and  about  seven  thousand  for  the  Americans,  although 
in  the  decisive  battle  Jackson  had  in  action  less  than 
three  thousand  to  six  thousand  of  the  British. 

It  was  the  most  astonishing  battle  ever  fought,  and 
the  most  stupendous  victory  ever  achieved  in  this  hemi- 
sphere prior  to  Dewey  and  Sampson,  and  the  misery  of 
it  all  was  that  peace  had  been  declared  some  time  be- 
fore the  battle  was  fought !  Oh,  for  some  earth-gird- 
ling "Puck"  to  have  carried  the  news !  The  lives  of  all 
the  brave  men  had  been  sacrificed  in  vain. 

The  English  soldiers  had  fought  with  the  utmost 
determination  and  valor.  Pakenham's  plans  were 
good  ones,  in  fact  they  were  the  only  ones  which  could 
have  been  put  in  operation  at  all ;  no  blame  attaches  to 
him,  unless  for  haste  in  not  waiting  for  Thornton,  but 
the  honor  of  the  campaign  must  rest  with  Jackson. 
Nobody  could  have  done  better;  few  so  well. 

While  the  battle  was  unnecessary,  the  victory  was 
very  useful  in  creating  among  the  British  nation  and 
the  nations  of  the  world  generally  a  healthy  respect 
for  American  arms,  which  has  never  entirely  left  them. 
We  have  kept  it  fresh  from  time  to  time.  The  battle 
of  New  Orleans  was  a  great,  glorious,  and  dreadful 
victory,  and  the  most  conspicuous  military  figure  in  the 
history  of  our  country  between  the  Revolution  and  the 
Civil  War  is  undoubtedly  that  of  the  backwoods  fighter 
— Andrew  Jackson  of  Tennessee! 


THE  CONSTITUTION'S  LAST 
BATTLE 


THE  last  survivor  of  the  great  captains  of  the  War  of 
1812,  who  indeed  lived  until  four  years  after  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War,  having  been  previously  retired  in 
1862  as  rear  admiral,  was  Charles  Stewart.  Though 
it  does  not  appertain  to  this  story,  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  daughter  of  this  splendid  American 
fighter  became  the  mother  of  that  equally  brilliant 
fighter  in  other  fields,  Charles  Stewart  Parnell,  the 
great  Irish  agitator.  Stewart  was  born  of  Irish 
parentage,  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1776.  He  entered  the 
merchant  service  at  thirteen,  and  was  captain  of  a  ship 
at  nineteen,  an  age  at  which,  at  present  and  under 
modern  conditions,  our  prospective  naval  officers  cannot 
possibly  have  attained  the  rank  of  midshipman  even! 
In  1798  Stewart  was  appointed  a  lieutenant  in  the  navy, 
where  he  served  with  distinction  in  all  the  subsequent 
wars.  In  the  French  War,  while  in  command  of  the 
schooner  Experiment,  he  captured  a  French  armed 
schooner  of  much  greater  force  than  his  own  after  a 
brilliant  little  combat.  He  was  the  second  in  com- 
mand to  stout  old  Commodore  Preble  in  the  Tripoli- 
tan  War,  and  offered  to  cut  out  the  Philadelphia;  but 
Decatur  had  made  the  proposition  before  Stewart, 

304 


The  Constitution's  Last  Battle     305 

who  had  command  of  the  Siren,  which  had  been  away 
from  the  station,  had  learned  of  the  disaster,  and  so  he 
had  to  content  himself  with  supporting  Decatur's  at- 
tack, as  we  have  seen. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  1812  he  had  com- 
mand of  the  famous  frigate  Constellation.  It  was 
through  his  address  that  she  escaped  from  a  heavy 
British  squadron  into  the  Elizabeth  River  at  Norfolk, 
where  she  was  unfortunately  so  closely  blockaded  dur- 
ing the  entire  war  that  it  was  impossible  for  her  to 
get  to  sea.  It  was  his  precaution  and  wise  prevision 
which  prevented  the  capture  of  that  ship  by  several 
cutting-out  expeditions  which  attempted  it.  At  the 
close  of  1813  he  was  given  command  of  the  more  fa- 
mous ship  Constitution,  44,  in  which  Hull  and  Bain- 
bridge  had  won  their  notable  victories  over  the  Guer- 
riere  and  the  Java.  Stewart  at  once  put  to  sea,  as  usual 
escaping  the  blockaders  off  Boston.  He  had  a  rather 
successful  cruise,  capturing  a  heavily  armed  British 
schooner  of  war,  an  armed  privateer  of  large  size, 
a  letter  of  marque,  several  merchant  vessels,  and 
chasing  the  frigate  Pique,  36,  which  escaped  at  night, 
after  a  hard  pursuit,  through  the  Windward  Passage. 
On  his  way  back  the  Constitution  was  chased  hard  by 
the  frigates  Junon  and  Nyrnphe,  either  of  which  was 
a  match  for  her.  She  escaped  with  difficulty,  and 
finally  made  the  harbor  of  Marblehead ;  thence,  shortly 
after,  she  got  into  Boston,  passing  the  blockade  again. 

The  ship  was  in  bad  shape,  nothing  having  been 
done  to  her  in  the  way  of  refitting  or  repairing  since 
her  two  hard  battles.  She  was  therefore  entirely  over- 
hauled, under  Stewart's  direction — a  long  and  tedious 
job.  Her  crew  having  been  sent  to  the  Lakes,  where 
they  gave  good  account  of  themselves,  a  new  crew  was 


306     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

shipped — the  pick  of  the  country — and  on  December 
30,  1814,  she  got  to  sea,  eluding  the  blockaders  before 
Boston  for  the  seventh  time  during  the  war !  She  was 
as  fine  and  fit  for  every  emergency  as  any  frigate  that 
ever  sailed  the  ocean.  It  is  quite  within  the  bounds 
of  truth  to  say  that  there  never  was  a  ship  so  dreaded 
by  the  whilom  masters  of  the  sea  as  the  United  States 
ship  Constitution.  Under  previous  instructions  from 
the  British  Admiralty,  as  soon  as  she  got  away  every 
vessel  of  whatever  class  which  spoke  another  on  the 
high  seas  was  instructed  to  announce  the  escape  of  the 
Constitution  from  the  blockade;  thus,  almost  with 
the  quickness  of  the  wind  itself,  from  ocean  to  ocean 
was  carried  the  ominous  news.  Frigates  cruising  alone 
were  instructed  to  avoid  action  with  anything  that 
looked  like  the  great  American.  Other  vessels  were 
directed  to  hunt  her  in  couples ! 

Perhaps  Captain  Stewart  had  this  fact  in  mind,  for 
when  his  young  wife,  to  whom  he  had  been  recently 
married,  in  answer  to  the  natural  question  of  depart- 
ing husbands — especially  youthful  ones — "What  shall 
I  bring  you  as  a  present?"  patriotically  answered,  "A 
British  frigate,"  he  replied,  smiling,  "I  will  bring  you 
two !"  However,  his  expectations  did  not  seem  in  the 
way  of  being  realized,  for  the  cruise  was  more  or  less 
an  uneventful  one  at  first,  and  the  officers  and  men 
began  to  feel  that  the  usual  luck  of  the  Constitution 
had  failed  them.  On  February  18,  1815,  long  after 
peace  had  been  declared,  by  the  way,  Stewart  chased 
an  English  line-of-battle  ship,  the  Elizabeth,  off  the 
Portuguese  coast  near  Lisbon ;  before  her  character 
was  discovered  he  left  the  chase  and  captured  a  mer- 
chant vessel.  When  the  Elizabeth  reached  Lisbon 
and  learned  that  the  Constitution  was  in  the  vicinity, 


The  Constitutions  Last  Battle     307 

without  stopping  for  any  purpose  she  at  once  squared 
away  in  pursuit. 

It  happened  that  the  frigate  Tiber,  36,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Richard  Dacres,  who  had  been  so  badly  beaten 
on  the  Guerriere,  was  in  port  also.  Dacres  had  been 
especially  preparing  his  vessel  for  the  purpose  of  meet- 
ing the  Constitution,  or  one  of  her  sister  ships,  and  he 
followed  the  Elizabeth  close  on  the  heels  of  the  Ameri- 
can. It  was  lucky  for  him  he  never  caught  sight  of 
her.  About  the  same  time  the  Leander,  the  Newcastle, 
and  the  Acasta,  two  fifty-  and  one  forty-gun  frigates, 
which  the  Constitution  had  eluded  before  at  Boston, 
were  booming  along  toward  the  eastward  in  pursuit  of 
her,  deluded  by  a  rumor  which  said  that  she  had  been 
joined  by  the  Congress  and  the  President.  In  addi- 
tion, the  seas  swarmed  with  British  cruisers  in  couples 
seeking  her.  Stewart,  who  had  changed  his  course 
without  any  explicable  reason,  had  sailed  the  Constitu- 
tion down  to  within  eighty  leagues  of  the  Madeiras, 
which  then  bore  about  southwest  by  west.  She  was 
sailing  along  serenely  in  the  midst  of  all  this  commo- 
tion when,  early  in  the  afternoon  of  February  2Oth, 
a  large  sail  was  discovered,  through  a  rift  in  the  fog, 
bearing  two  points  off  the  port  bow.  It  was  a  raw, 
nasty  day,  the  fresh  wet  breeze  raising  a  choppy,  un- 
comfortable sea. 

The  Constitution  at  once  edged  away  in  chase.  At 
two  o'clock  another  sail  was  raised,  right  ahead  of  the 
former  and  apparently  in  company  with  her.  Signals 
were  exchanged  between  the  two  vessels  which  had 
been  sighted,  and  they  made  every  effort  to  close  with 
each  other.  A  double  row  of  painted  ports  on  the 
nearest  led  the  Americans  to  think  that  they  were  in 
the  presence  of  two  frigates,  a  large  one  of  at  least 


308     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

fifty  guns  and  a  smaller,  but  Stewart  had  promised  his 
officers  a  fight,  and  he  was  quite  in  the  mood  to  have 
tackled  a  line-of-battle  ship  rather  than  disappoint  all 
hands,  so  the  Constitution  was  soon  covered  with  every 
strip  of  canvas,  including  studding  sails,  which  she 
could  carry  alow  and  aloft,  and  bore  down  upon  the 
strangers,  which  she  soon  began  to  overhaul.  The 
two  ships,  which  were  gradually  working  nearer  to 
each  other,  set  all  sail,  hoisted  the  English  flag,  and 
endeavored  to  escape. 

About  half  past  four  in  the  afternoon  the  Constitu- 
tion carried  away  her  main  royal  mast  in  the  freshen- 
ing breeze,  which  so  far  delayed  her  that  it  gave  her 
enemies  time  to  close  with  each  other.  By  smart  sea- 
manship, by  five  o'clock  the  damage  was  repaired,  an- 
other spar  replaced  the  broken  one,  sail  was  set,  and 
the  Constitution  quickly  regained  her  speed,  and 
began  to  overhaul  the  chase  again  as  before.  There 
was  some  little  manoeuvering  on  the  part  of  the  Eng- 
lish, who  had  flung  out  their  battle  flags,  to  get  the 
weather-gage,  but  they  were  unable  to  out-point  the 
Constitution,  and  indeed  had  hardly  time  to  settle  back 
on  the  old  starboard  tack  again  when  she  came  booming 
down  upon  them.  Action  was  now  inevitable.  Seeing 
this  they  deliberately  stripped  themselves  to  fighting 
canvas,  and  Stewart  did  the  same.  At  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening  the  three  vessels  lay  at  the  points  of  an 
equilateral  angle,  the  two  English  vessels  in  a  line 
ahead,  the  smaller  in  the  lead,  forming  the  base,  and 
the  Constitution  midway  between  them  at  the  apex; 
all  were  heading  west,  with  the  wind  over  the  star- 
board quarter,  the  Constitution  being  to  windward. 

Stewart  now  saw  that  his  antagonists  were  a  small 
frigate  and  a  large  sloop-of-war — a  very  tidy  couple 


The  Constitution's  Last  Battle     309 

indeed.  At  six  o'clock  the  battle  began  at  a  range 
within  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  a  little  more  than 
the  length  of  an  ordinary  city  block.  It  was  a  brilliant 
moonlight  night,  the  clouds  and  the  fog  had  disap- 
peared, and  all  of  the  vessels  were  now  plainly  visible. 
Every  gun  on  the  engaged  sides  of  the  three  ships  was 
at  once  in  action,  and  the  firing  for  fifteen  minutes  was 
rapid  and  fierce.  The  British  cheered  loudly,  while 
the  men  on  the  Constitution  maintained  a  grim  silence 
— they  could  cheer  later  on.  A  cloud  of  smoke  drifted 
down  between  the  Constitution  and  her  antagonists, 
whose  fire,  by  the  way,  materially  decreased,  and  at 
6.15  P.M.  Stewart  ceased  firing. 

As  the  smoke  blew  away  he  saw  that  he  had  forged 
ahead,  and  was  now  abreast  of  and  very  near  the  fore- 
most ship,  afterward  found  to  be  the  sloop-of-war 
Levant,  Captain  Douglass.  Stewart  also  discovered 
that  the  rear  ship,  the  frigate  Cyane,  had  luffed  up  into 
the  wind  and  was  endeavoring  to  go  about  on  the  other 
tack  to  cross  his  stern  and  rake  him.  He  acted  with 
the  quickness  of  thought  itself  to  meet  this  new  dan- 
ger, first  pouring  a  tremendous  broadside  from  double- 
shotted  guns  into  the  Levant  at  close  range,  which 
nearly  smashed  the  life  out  of  her;  he  laid  his  main 
and  mizzen  topsails  to  the  mast,  let  fly  the  jib-sheet, 
braced  the  head-yards  around  until  the  sails  shivered 
in  the  wind,  and  with  astonishing  rapidity  actually 
backed  the  Constitution  down  upon  her  other  enemy. 

Instead  of  being  able  to  cross  the  stern  of  the  Ameri- 
can, what  was  the  surprise  of  Captain  Falcon,  of  the 
frigate  Cyane,  to  see  her  huge  bulk  come  shoving 
through  the  smoke  across  his  own  bows.  At  this  junc- 
ture, the  two  ships  being  almost  in  contact,  the  Consti- 
tution poured  in  a  full  broadside  from  her  port  battery, 


3io     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

which  raked  the  Cyane  terribly  fore  and  aft.  She 
shivered  from  truck  to  keelson  under  this  terrific 
smashing  as  if  she  had  struck  a  rock.  Beaten  off  from 
the  wind  by  the  Constitution's  manoeuvers,  the  Cyane 
fell  away,  of  course,  and  the  two  ships  sailed  side  by 
side  for  perhaps  five  minutes,  exchanging  broadsides, 
until  the  lighter  Cyane  was  silenced. 

Leaving  the  helpless  frigate  for  the  moment,  Stewart 
turned  his  attention  to  the  Levant,  which  had  been  fir- 
ing aimlessly  into  the  smoke  and  had  at  last  found  out 
that  the  Constitution  had  dropped  astern.  Now,  there- 
fore, Captain  Douglass  attempted  to  come  by  the  wind 
to  cross  the  bows  of  the  Constitution  and  rake  her,  in 
the  hope  of  delivering  his  helpless  consort.  As  soon 
as  Stewart  saw  the  manceuvers  he  put  his  helm  up, 
filled  away,  and,  the  ship  being  handled  with  wonder- 
ful smartness,  ran  down  off  the  wind  and  crossed 
astern  of  the  Levant,  into  whom  he  poured  two  raking 
broadsides  at  close  range  from  his  starboard  battery, 
which  almost  completely  disabled  her.  The  Levant 
drifted  far  away  and  remained  out  of  action  for  a  long 
time,  wrhile  her  men  worked  desperately  to  re-reeve  the 
gear  and  refit,  so  that  they  could  once  more  engage  in 
the  fight.  Meanwhile  the  Cyane  had  pluckily  followed 
theConstitution,and  now  attempted  to  wear  to  cross  her 
stern  and  rake,  but  the  Constitution  was  much  better 
handled.  She  emulated  the  manceuverof  the  enemy,  and 
actually  succeeded  in  swinging  around  under  the  stern 
of  the  devoted  Cyane,  into  which  she  poured  another 
terrible  raking  broadside;  then  she  rounded  to  on  her 
port  quarter,  and  for  ten  minutes  she  made  a  chopping- 
block  of  her  gallant  enemy.  At  6.50  P.M.  the  Cyane 
struck  her  colors.  She  was  immediately  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  a  prize  crew,  an  operation  which  consumed 
some  little  time. 


The  Constitution's  Last  Battle     311 

Meanwhile  the  Levant,  having  finished  refitting,  in- 
stead of  trying  to  escape,  now  sailed  boldly  down  to 
meet  the  Constitution  again.  Captain  Douglass  must 
have  known  that  the  Cyane  had  been  captured,  and 
that  he,  in  his  smaller  ship,  had  no  further  chance  in 
the  fight,  especially  in  view  of  the  punishment  he  had 
already  received,  therefore  his  action  was  foolhardy, 
but  gallant.  At  8.50  P.M.  the  two  ships  passed  each 
other  on  different  tacks,  exchanging  broadsides,  then 
the  Levant  spread  everything  to  get  away.  The  Con- 
stitution wore  in  chase,  and  by  9.30  in  the  evening  had 
drawn  so  close  to  that  ship  that  the  shot  from  her  bow- 
chasers  could  be  distinctly  heard  splintering  the  tim- 
bers on  board  of  the  Levant.  The  situation  of  the 
latter  was  perfectly  helpless,  and  she  struck  her  colors. 
The  Constitution's  last  and  greatest  battle  was  over. 

As  an  exhibition  of  the  highest  seamanship  this  ac- 
tion has  never  even  been  paralleled.  It  is  almost  hopeless 
to  attempt  to  prevent  one  ship  engaged  with  two  others 
from  being  frequently  raked.  In  this  instance  the  Con- 
stitution, by  her  masterly  handling,  raked  both  ships 
opposed  to  her  repeatedly,  manning  her  port  or  star- 
board battery  at  will.  One  of  the  opposing  ships  tried 
two  times  to  cross  her  stern,  the  other  to  cross  her 
bows,  she  frustrated  both  attempts  with  ease.  In  all 
her  manceuvers  she  never  lost  the  weather-gage;  she 
went  backward,  or  forward, or  turned  about  on  her  heel, 
attacking  either  ship  apparently  at  pleasure.  Stewart 
handled  her  like  a  yacht  or  a  catboat.  It  was  astonish- 
ing !  Stewart's  exploit  excited  the  greatest  admiration 
among  nautical  critics  all  over  the  world — and  does  to 
this  day — and,  with  Hull's  wonderful  escape  on  the 
same  ship  from  the  pursuing  British  squadron,  stands 
at  the  very  high-water  mark  of  consummate  seaman- 
ship and  skill. 


312     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

The  number  of  guns  on  the  Constitution  was  fifty- 
one.  Out  of  her  crew  of  four  hundred  and  fifty-six 
she  lost  four  killed  and  ten  wounded.  The  combined 
armament  of  the  Cyane  and  the  Levant  amounted  to 
fifty-five  guns.  Out  of  their  crews  of  three  hundred 
and  fifteen  they  lost  thirty-five  killed  and  forty-two 
wounded.  Both  ships  were  terribly  cut  up. 

The  Constitution  had  sustained  but  little  damage  to 
her  rigging,  but  she  had  been  hulled  thirteen  times  by 
solid  shot.  Only  three  shot  had  hulled  her  when  she 
fought  the  Guerriere,  and  four  when  she  had  fought 
the  Java,  therefore  the  English  had  done  better  than 
usual.  The  Cyane  had  lost  twelve  killed  and  twenty- 
six  wounded.  Every  brace  and  bowline  had  been  cut, 
most  of  her  standing  and  running  rigging  was  carried 
away,  her  main  and  mizzenmasts  were  tottering,  many 
important  spars  were  badly  wounded,  she  had  been 
hulled  many  times,  and  five  of  her  guns  were  disabled. 
The  Levant  lost  twenty-three  killed  and  sixteen 
wounded.  She  was  smashed  up  as  badly  as  her  con- 
sort. 

One  or  two  little  anecdotes  in  connection  with  the 
fight  are  of  interest.  The  two  British  captains  were 
discussing,  over  their  wine  after  dinner  in  Stewart's 
cabin,  the  reason  of  their  defeat,  each  accusing  the 
other  of  being  the  cause  of  it.  Stewart  listened  to 
their  acrimonious  debate  for  some  time,  and  finally 
suggested,  as  a  method  of  solving  the  problem,  that 
he  would  put  them  and  their  crews  back  upon  their 
respective  ships  and  try  it  over!  The  solution  was 
declined  in  silence. 

Just  before  the  battle  grog  was  served  out  as  usual 
to  the  crew  of  the  Constitution.  Some  of  the  men 
claimed  that  they  should  have  a  double  portion,  as  they 


The  Constitution's  Last  Battle     313 

had  two  ships  to  fight.  This  so  filled  the  mind  of  a 
veteran  seaman  aboard  with  disgust  that  he  kicked 
over  the  grog  tub,  amid  the  cheers  of  the  men,  remark- 
ing "that  they  didn't  need  no  Dutch  courage  to  fight 
them  ships." 

A  sailor  named  John  Lancey,  from  Cape  Ann,  was 
carried  below  to  the  cockpit,  horribly  mutilated  by  a 
solid  shot  and  writhing  in  death  agony,  just  as  the 
Cyanc  struck  her  colors.  The  surgeon,  after  a  hasty 
examination,  told  him  that  he  could  do  nothing  for 
him  and  that  his  end  was  approaching.  "I  know  it," 
replied  the  heroic  man;  "I  only  want  to  know  that  the 
other  ship  has  struck."  When  the  shouts  of  the  men 
above  announced  to  him  that  the  Levant  had  surren- 
dered he  actually  lifted  himself  from  his  cot,  waved  his 
blood-stained,  shattered  arm  stump  in  the  air,  and 
joined  in  the  cheering,  and  immediately  thereafter  ex- 
pired. 

After  a  very  gallant  action  many  years  before,  by 
which  Stewart  saved  the  lives  of  some  sixty  Spanish 
people  escaping  from  an  outbreak  at  San  Domingo,  he 
had  been  presented  with  a  superb  Toledo  blade  by  the 
King  of  Spain,  his  naval  and  official  rank  not  per- 
mitting him  to  receive  a  completed  sword  from  a  for- 
eign government.  This  blade  had  been  beautifully 
mounted,  and  he  wore  the  sword  during  this  battle 
with  the  Cyane  and  the  Levant.  A  solid  shot,  which 
grazed  his  side  during  the  action,  had  carried  away  the 
hilt.  The  armorer  of  the  Constitution,  after  the  bat- 
tle, fitted  a  rudely  forged  iron  guard  to  the  exquisite 
blade,  and  ever  after,  on  state  occasions,  Stewart  wore 
this  rough,  iron-hilted  sword. 

The  prize  crews  from  the  Constitution  made  all  haste 
to  get  the  ships  in  shape  again.  By  one  o'clock  in  the 


3 14     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

morning  of  February  2ist,  or  three  hours  after  the 
surrender  of  the  Cyane  and  the  Levant,  the  Constitu- 
tion was  ready  for  another  action.  On  the  following 
day  they  headed  for  the  nearest  neutral  port,  and  on 
the  fifteenth  of  March  anchored  in  Porta  Praya,  in  the 
Cape  Verde  Islands.  There  Stewart  found  one  of  his 
prizes,  which  he  determined  to  use  as  a  cartel  to  send 
the  prisoners  back  to  England.  The  day  after  their 
arrival,  as  they  were  busily  engaged  in  their  prepara- 
tions, an  English  midshipman  on  the  Constitution 
called  the  attention  of  Captain  Falcon  of  the  Cyane, 
who  was  a  prisoner  there,  to  the  sails  of  a  large  ship 
seen  above  the  fog,  coming  toward  the  harbor.  The 
air  was  filled  with  a  dense  mist,  which  hung  low  and 
prevented  anything  below  the  topgallant  yards  from 
being  visible.  The  English  captain  angrily  silenced 
the  imprudent  midshipman,  but  the  attention  of  Shu- 
brick,  acting  first  of  the  Constitution,  had  been  called 
to  the  stranger. 

He  hastily  informed  Captain  Stewart,  who  was 
shaving  in  his  cabin,  and  received  orders  to  get  under 
way  and  go  out  to  engage.  Immediately  thereafter 
the  sails  of  two  other  ships  were  detected  towering 
above  the  fog.  At  this  news  the  half-shaved,  but  fully 
alert  Stewart  came  running  on  deck,  ordered  the 
cables  cut,  and  signaled  the  two  prizes  to  get  under 
way  at  once.  It  was  quite  evident  from  the  look  of 
the  sails  that  the  force  approaching  was  too  great  for 
him  to  cope  with,  with  any  chance  of  success.  It  is 
on  a  par  with  the  rest  of  the  seamanship  of  this  re- 
markable cruise  to  note  that  ten  minutes  after  the 
strange  sails  had  been  sighted  the  Constitution  and 
her  prizes,  the  latter  naturally  greatly  undermanned 
with  their  small  prize  crews,  had  cut  cables,  got  under 


The  Constitution's  Last  Battle     315 

way,  and  under  their  topsails  alone,  which  rendered 
them  invisible  as  the  fog  rose  above  them,  they  were 
stretching  swiftly  for  the  mouth  of  the  harbor.  Some 
of  the  English  prisoners,  who  had  been  landed,  took 
possession  of  a  Portuguese  battery  and  began  firing  at 
the  escaping  ships,  which  caused  the  English  outside  to 
get  on  the  alert  at  once. 

The  fog  gradually  lowered  as  the  three  ships  made 
the  harbor  entrance  and,  crossing  their  topgallant 
yards  in  gallant  style,  stretched  away  for  the  open  sea. 
The  various  ships  were  plainly  visible  to  each  other 
down  to  the  tops.  The  three  English  vessels  were  Sir 
George  Collier's  squadron,  before  mentioned — the 
Leander,  50,  the  Newcastle,  50,  and  the  Acasta,  40. 
To  oppose  this  formidable  squadron  Stewart  had  the 
Constitution,  44,  the  Cyane,  32,  the  Levant,  18,  the  two 
latter  badly  disabled  still  and  with  only  small  prize 
crews,  insufficient  in  number  to  work  the  guns  aboard. 
The  English  forces  counted  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
three  heavy  guns  and  twelve  hundred  men.  The 
Americans  one  hundred  and  six  guns,  most  of  them 
light,  and  four  hundred  and  fifty  men.  The  fifty-gun 
ships  were  especially  large  and  heavy,  and  designed 
particularly  to  overmatch  ships  of  the  Constitution's 
class.  To  run  was  Stewart's  only  chance;  he  was  as 
good  at  running  as  he  was  at  fighting. 

The  chase  that  ensued  was  as  exciting  as  any  the 
Constitution  ever  participated  in.  The  fog  still  held, 
though  it  gradually  settled  down  so  that  the  officers 
standing  on  the  hammock  cloths  of  the  pursuing  ships 
were  easily  seen  from  the  American  ships,  though  the 
hulls  of  the  English  ships  still  remained  concealed. 
About  i  P.M.,  finding  that  the  Cyane  was  lagging  be- 
hind and  in  danger  of  being  overhauled,  Stewart  sig- 


316     American  Fights  and  Fighters 

naled  her  to  tack,  supposing  that  one  of  the  chasing 
ships  would  be  detached  to  pursue.  If  he  could  divide 
the  enemy  he  determined  to  engage  the  nearest  ship 
himself.  The  three  pursuers,  however,  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  the  last  ship — which,  by  the  way,  succeeded  in 
reaching  New  York  in  safety  a  month  later — but  held 
on  after  the  other  two.  At  2.30  P.M.  the  foremost 
English  ship  opened  on  the  Constitution,  firing  by  divi- 
sion, but  the  shot  fell  short  by  an  hundred  yards. 
Stewart  gained  a  little  more  definite  idea  of  the  size 
and  quality  of  his  pursuer  from  the  heavy  fire  of  the 
divisions  of  her  battery. 

At  3  P.M.,  the  Levant  being  now  almost  within 
range  of  the  nearest  pursuer,  Stewart  signaled  her  to 
tack,  which  she  immediately  did,  when,  to  the  surprise 
of  the  officers  on  board  the  Constitution,  the  whole  of 
the  formidable  English  squadron  tacked  and  stood  on 
in  the  wake  of  the  little  sloop  Levant.  The  old  Con- 
stitution at  this  time  was  skipping  through  the  water 
at  about  twelve  knots  an  hour.  There  was  nothing 
on  the  seas  to  catch  her,  and  she  soon  ran  the  enemy 
out  of  sight.  She  reached  Boston  in  safety  early  in 
May.  Ballard,  the  prize  master  of  the  Levant,  seeing 
escape  was  hopeless,  made  for  Porta  Praya  again.  He 
anchored  immediately  under  the  guns  of  the  battery, 
but  the  English  commodore,  as  usual  paying  no  atten- 
tion to  the  neutrality  of  the  port,  sent  the  Newcastle 
and  the  Acasta  into  the  harbor,  and,  after  enduring  the 
fire  of  these  two  heavy  ships  for  some  fifteen  minutes, 
Lieutenant  Ballard  struck  his  colors. 

"I  believe,  sir,"  said  the  English  boarding  officer,  in 
great  exultation,  coming  to  take  charge  of  the  prize, 
"that  I  have  the  honor  to  receive  the  sword  of  Captain 
Blakeley  of  the  Wasp."  "No,  sir,"  said  Ballard  grimly, 


The  Constitution  s  Last  Battle     317 

"you  have  the  honor  to  receive  the  sword  of  Cap- 
tain Ballard,  prize  master  of  his  Britannic  Majesty's 
sloop-of-war  Levant!"  Why  Sir  George  Collier's 
squadron  acted  in  this  extraordinary  manner  in  this 
pursuit  has  never  been  definitely  ascertained,  though 
various  explanations  of  it,  all  equally  unsatisfactory, 
have  been  put  forth.  Sir  George  was  so  chagrined 
over  the  matter  that,  on  being  reproached  with  it  some 
years  later,  he  committed  suicide. 

The  brilliant  way  in  which  Stewart  had  escaped 
from  the  harbor  and  succeeded  in  preserving  two  of 
his  ships  from  the  tremendously  overwhelming  force 
of  his  enemy  added  new  laurels  to  the  wreath  which 
his  grateful  countrymen  had  twined  about  the  head  of 
the  splendid  sailor.  He  received  the  usual  rewards 
from  Congress  and  his  countrymen,  and,  by  graceful 
compliment,  the  popular  name  of  the  gallant  ship 
he  had  so  ably  commanded  was  soon  applied  to  him, 
and  to  the  end  of  his  days  he  was  known  as  "Old 
Ironsides !" 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abercrombie,  Lieut. -Col.,  156  Bentham,  George,  276 

Acasta   (British  frigate),  307,  315-  Biddle,  James,  247,  248 

316  Biddle,  Nicholas,  128-132 

Ackland,  Maj.,  76-78,  82  Bladensburg,  Battle  of,  138 

Actizon  (British  frigate),  7,  8,  12  Blakely,  Johnston,  250-256 

Active  (British  frigate),  7,  8,  13  Bonhomme  Richard,  43;    crew   of, 
Allen,  Ethan,  118-120  44;   encounter  with  the  Serapis, 

Alliance  (American  frigate),  44,  46,        45-54;  destruction  of,  54 

51,  54,  140-142  Borgne,  Lake,  attack  at,  290-291 

Anderson,  Midshipman,  204,  209  Brady,  Hugh,  233-235 

Andria    Doria    (American    armed  Brainer,  Capt.,  255,  256 

vessel),  129  Brandywine,  Battle  of,  59 

Ann,  Fort,  abandonment  of,  6l  Brant,  Joseph,  64,  175 

Arbuthnot,  John,  254,  256  Breyman,  Col.,  59,  69 

Armada  ( British  line-of-battle  ship),  Bristol  (British  line-of-battle  ship), 

254  7,8,11-13 

Arnold,  Benedict,  in  Saratoga  cam-  Brown,  Jacob,  226-230,   232,   233, 

paign,  66,  73-79 ;  in  storming  of       238,  241,  242 

Ticonderoga,    117-120;     in     the  Burgoyne,  John,  56-59,62,67,71- 

Yorktown  campaign,  145-146  74,  76,  79 

Atalanta  (British  war  ship),  140-  Butler,  Richard,  168,  172 

141 

Augusta  (Ga.),  post  at,  86,  89;  cap-  Cadwalader,  Gen.,  20,  22 

ture  of,  103  Camden  (N.  C.),  post  at,  86;  Battle 
Avon    (British    brig-of-war),  254-        of,  86 

256  Campbell,  Col.,  1 12,  113 

Campbell,  Lord  William,  6,  13 

Bainbridge,  Joseph,  203,  209  Carleton,  Sir  Guy,  58 

Bainbridge,  William,  201, 215-225  Carnation     (British     brig-of-war), 
Baker,  Midshipman,  247,  248.  275-277,  283,  284 

Balcarras,  Lord,  58,  76  Carolina  (American  schooner),  290- 
Ballard,  Lieut.,  316,  317  293,  295 

Barney,  Joshua,  136-139  Carolinas,   Greene's    campaign    in, 
Barras,  Count  de,  148,  152  84-116 

Barreaut,    Capt.,  of   L' Insurgente,  Carroll,  leader  of  Tennessee   rifle- 

186  men,  294 

Barry,  John,  139-142  Cassin,  Stephen,  260,  267 

Baum,  Col.,  59,  67-69  Castillian  (British  brig-of-war), 255 

Beatty,  Capt.,  105  Caswell,  Richard,  4 

Bemis    Heights,  American  occupa-  Catalino,  Salvator,  203 

tion  of,  73,  75  Chads,  Lieut.,  222 

Bennington,  Battle  of,  68-70  Chalmette's  plantation,  Battle  of,  296 


322 


Index 


Champlain,  Lake,  Battle  of,  262-271 

Charles,  Midshipman,  203 

Charleston,  attack  of,  5-14;  evacua- 
tion of,  116 

Charon  (British  frigate),  156 

Chauncey,  Commodore,  227-228, 
232-233 

Cheevers,  heroism  of  the,  223 

Chippewa,  Battle  of,  229-232 

Chubb  (British  sloop-of-war),  261, 
264-266,  271 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  expedition  01 
177&>  3>  4>  9»  1°,  '3;  operations 
of  1777,  72;  expedition  of  1780, 
85,  86,  89;  operations  of  1779, 
121, 124,  125  ;  operations  of  1781, 
149,  152,  156 

Cockburn,  Admiral,  297 

Coffey,  leader  of  Kentucky  riflemen, 
294 

Coffin,  Capt.,  in 

Collier,  Sir  George,  315,  317 

Con  fiance  (British  frigate),  261, 264- 
266,  268,  269,  271 

Constellation  (American  frigate), 
179,  183-195,  305 

Constitution^ American  frigate),  201, 
203,  215,  217-225,  305-317 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  expedition  ot 
1 776,  4,  18 ;  Princeton  campaign, 
27,  29,  30,  31,  34,  36,  38;  Caro- 
lina campaign,  86-92,  96-101 ; 
surrender,  116;  Yorktown  cam- 
paign, 144-148,  150-152,  155-159 

Cornwallis  (British  ship-of-the- 
line),  217 

Cowpens,  Battle  of,  93-96 

Cox,  Col.,  63,  64 

Crown  Point,  capture  of,  120 

Cruger,  Col.,  107,  108,  113 

Cyane  (British  frigate),  307-316 

Dabney,  Consul,  275-277,  279,  284 

Dacres,  Richard,  307 

Dale,  Col.,  298,  302 

Dale,  Richard,  44,  48-52,  181 

Darke,  Col.,  173 

Davis,  Midshipman,  203 

Decatur,  Stephen,  199-212 

Defiance,  Mount,  59 

De  Kalb,  Baron,  86,  87 

Delaplace,  Capt.,  117,  119,  120 

Delaware  River,  Washington's  re- 


treat across,  18 ;  second  crossing, 

21 

Douglas,  Capt.,  309-311 
Douglas,  Fort,  238,  239,  241 
Downie,  Commodore,  260,  263,  264, 

268,  269 

Drummond,  Lieut. -Col.,  239,  240 
Drummond,  Sir  Gordon,  233,  236, 

239,  242,  243 

Eagle  (American  brig-of-war),  260, 

262,  264-267,  269-271 
Easton,  Jonathan,  118 
Endymion  (British  frigate),  199 
Enterprise  (American  war  vessel), 

202,  203 
Erie,  Fort,  surrender  of,  228;  siege 

of,  238-242 

Eutaw  Springs,  battle  of,  110-115 
Ewing,  Gen.,  20,  22 
Experiment  (American   schooner), 

304 

Experiment  ( British  line-of-battle 
ship),  7,  8,  n,  13,  140 

Falcon,  Capt.,  309,  314 

Falling  Timbers,  Battle  of,  175 

Febiger,  Col.,  123 

Ferguson,  Patrick,  88 

Fermoy,  Gen.  de,  60 

Finch    (British   sloop-of-war),  261, 

264,  266,  271 

Flag,  first  American,  65-66 
Fleury,  Lieut.-Col.,  122,  123 
Francis,  Col.,  60,  6l 
Fraser,  Maj.-Gen.,  58,  61,  73,  74, 

76,  77.  79 

Freeman's  Farm,  Battle  of,  74-75 
French  War,  179-195 
Friendship  (British  battle-ship),  7 
Frolic    (British   brig-of-war),   245- 

249 

Gaines,  Gen.,  238,  241 

Gamble,  Lieut.,  265.  268 

Gansevoort,  Peter.  62,  63,  65 

Gates,  Horatio,  20,  22,  71,  74-76, 
78,  86 

Germaine,  Lord,  58,  159 

German  town,  Battle  of,  59 

General  Armstrong  (American  pri- 
vateer-ship), 274-284,  286 


Index 


323 


General   Monk    (British    sloop-of- 

war),  137,  138 
Gibbons,  Lieut.,  123 
Gibbs,  Samuel,  295,  298-302 
Granby,  Fort,  89,  103 
Grasse,   Count    de,   no,   143,  147, 

148,  150-152,  156,  159 
Graves,  Admiral,  152 
"Green  Mountain  Boys,"  118 
Greene,  Nathaniel,  in   New  Jersey 
campaign,  20,  22;  Carolina  cam- 
paign, 84 ;  character,  85  ;  organi- 
zation of  Southern  army,  87-90; 
plans  for  campaign,  91-92  ;  Battle 
of  Cowpens  and  retreat,  96-97; 
Battle  of  Guilford  Court  House, 
98-101;  further  movements,  102- 
107;    siege   of   Ninety-six,    107- 
109;    Battle  of  Eutaw   Springs, 
HO-H2,  114;  end  of  campaign, 
115-116;  death,  116 
Guilford    Court   House,   Battle  of, 
98-100 


Hale,  Col.,  60,  6 1 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  153 
Hamtranck,  Maj.,  169 
Haslet,  Col.,  33 
Henderson,  Col.,  in,  113 
Henly,  Robert,  260,  266,  290 
Herkimer,  Nicholas,  63,  65-67 
Hessian  troops,  surprise  of,  23-25 ; 

at  Bennington,  68-69 
Hindman,  Maj.,  228 
Hislop,  Lieut. -Gen.,  217,  224 
Hobkirk's  Hill,  Battle  of,  104 
Howard,  John,  94,  95,  113 
Howe,  Gen.,  18,  27,  58,  59,  72 
Hubbardton,  Battle  of,  6l 
Hyder  Ally  (American  armed  mer- 
chantman), 136-138 

Independence  (American  privateer- 
ship),  181 

Indian  War  in  the  Northwest,  163- 
176 

Indians  in  the  Revolution,  64-66,  71 

Insurgente,  L'  (French  frigate), 
179,  183-188,  195 

Intrepid  (American  ketch  previously 
called  Mastico),  202-211 

Iris  (British  frigate),  135,  136 


Izard,  Gen.,  242 
Izard,  Midshipman,  203 

iackson,  Andrew,  285,  287-303 
arvis,  James,  193-195 
asper,  William,  10,  14-15 
Java  (British  frigate),  201,  217-225 
Jefferson,  Fort,  168,  175 
Jessup,  Maj.,  231,  234,  235 
Jones,  Jacob,  244-247 
Jones,   John    Paul,  early   life,  41- 
43;    battle   with  Serapis,  45-54; 
death       55 ;        encounter      with 
Truxtun,  181 
Jones,  Thomas,  290,  291 

Keane,  Gen.,  290,  291, 298, 301, 302 
King's  Mountain,  Battle  of,  88 
Knox,  Gen.,  21,  154 
Knox,  Lieut.,  123 
Kosciusko,  Thaddeus,  73,  107 

Lafayette,  Gen.,  145-147 

La  Fitte,  Jean,  294 

Lambert,  Henry,  217, 219,  220,222- 

225 

Lambert,  John,  295,  298,  301,  302 
Lancey,  John,  313 
Landais,  Capt.,  of  the  Alliance,  46, 

54 

Lang,  Jack,  247,  248 
Lauzun,  Duke  de,  153 
Lawrence,  Maj.,  289 
Lawrence,  James,  203,  209 
Laws,  Midshipman,  208 
Leander  (British  frigate),  307,  315 
Leavenworth,  Col.,  231,  234,  235 
Lee,  Charles,  5,  6,  8,  12,  19,  59 
Lee,   Richard    Henry,   in   Carolina 

campaign,  87,  99,  102,  103,  108, 

111-113;     storming    of    Paulus 

Hook,  125-127 
Lee,  Fort,  capture  of,  72 
Levant  (British  sloop-of-war),  307- 

31.7 

Lewis,  Midshipman,  203 
"  Light    Horse   Harry   Lee."     See 

Lee,  Richard  Henry 
Lincoln,  Gen.,  86,  151 
Linnet  (British  brig-of-war),  261, 

264-266,  268-271 
Little  Turtle  (Indian   chief  of  the 

Miamis),  175 


324 


Index 


Lloyd,  Robert,  277,  285 
Louisiana  (American  sloop-of-war), 

290,  293,  295-297 
Louisiana,  defense  of,  287-303 
l.undy's  Lane,  Battle  of,  233-238 
Lyman,  Lieut.,  256 

MacCrea,  Jane,  murder  of,  71 

Macdaniel,  Sergeant,  II 

Macdonald,  Alan  and  Donald,  3,  4 

Macdonough,  Lieut.,  240,  241 

Macdonough,  Thomas,  201,  203, 
209,  258-266,  268-271 

McKay,  Lieut.,  103 

McKnight,  Lieut.,  256 

McLane,  Allan,  126 

McNeil,  John,  231,  232,  234,  235 

Macomb,  Gen.,  263,  270 

Maham,  Col.,  103 

Majoribanks,  Maj.,  112,  113 

Manners,  William,  251-253 

Marion,  Francis,  at  defense  of  Char- 
leston, 6,  8;  Carolina  campaign, 
88,  91,  loo,  102,  103,  109,  112 

Martin,  Gov.  of  N.  C.,  3 

Mastico.     See  Intrepid. 

Matterface,  William,  279,  282 

Mawhood,  Lieut. -Col.,  30,  33 

Mercer,  Gen.,  32-34 

Miller,  Col.,  235,  236,  241,  242 

Monroe,  James,  24 

Moore's  Creek,  Battle  of,  4 

Morgan,  Daniel,  73,  76,  77,  87,  91- 

97 

Morris,  Midshipman,  203,  208 
Morris,  John,  1 1 
Morris,  Robert,  29,  41 
Motte,  Fort,  89,  103 
Monltrie,  William,  5,  6,  8-10,  14 
Moultrie,  Fort,  change  of  Fort  Sul- 
livan's name  to,  14 
Mullens,  Col.,  299 
Murray,  Alexander,  134,  135 

Nelson,  Gov.,  151,  155 

New  Brunswick,  British  headquar- 
ters at,  1 8 

New  Orleans,  siege  and  Battle  of, 
296-303 

Newcastle  (British  frigate), 307,315, 

316 

Niagara,  campaign  of,  226-243 
Nicholas,  Col.,  235 
Nicholson,  John,  132-136 


Ninety-six  (N.  C.)  post  at,  86,  89; 
siege  of  107-108 

O'Hara,  Gen.,  158 

"Old  Ironsides."    See  Constitution. 

Oriskany  Creek,  Battle  of,  63-65 


Pakenham,  Sir  Edward,  295-303 
Pallas  (American  war  ship),  44,  45, 

53 

Paris,  Col.,  63,  64 
Parker,  Lieut.,  223 
Parker,  Sir  Peter,  4,  7-10 
Patterson,  Commodore,  290 
Paulding,  Midshipman,  267 
Paulus    Hook,   storming    of,    125- 

127 
Pearson,  Capt.,  of  Serapis,  45-47, 

49,  50,  52-53 

Pensacola,  capture  of,  289 
Perry,  Christopher,  134 
Philadelphia    (American     frigate), 

201-211,  216 

Philadelphia,  capture  of,  59 
Philips,  Chief  of  the  Artillery,  58, 

6o»  73,  75-76,  145 
Pickens,  Andrew,  94,  95,  112 
Pinckney's  rangers,  88 
Plantagenet     (British     ship-of-the- 

line),  277,  279 
Poictiers  (British    war  vessel),  249, 

257 

Porter,  David,  187,  215 
Porter,    Peter,   228-230,   235,    241, 

242 

Posey,  Maj.,  123 
Pratt,  Midshipman,  266 
Preble,  Commodore,  201-203 
Preble     (American     sloop-of-war), 

260,  262,  266,  271 
Princeton,    British    occupation    of, 

27 ;  Battle  of,  30-36 
Pring  (Commamier  of  the  Linnet), 

269-270 
Putnam,  Gen.,  20,  23,  37,  73 

Quebec  (British  frigate),  137 

Raleigh   (American    frigate),    139- 

140 
Rail,  Col.,  19,  24,  25 


Index 


325 


Randolph  (American  frigate),  129- 

131 

Ranger    (American    sloop-of-war), 

42 

Ranger  (British  battle-ship),  7 
Rawdon,  Lord,  101,  104-106,  108, 

no 

Red  Jacket,  Indian  leader,  229 
Reid,    Samuel,    273-280,    282-284, 

286 
Reindeer  (British  brig-of-war),  250- 

253 

Rennie,  Col.,  298,  300,  303 

Revolutionary  War,  defense  of  Fort 
Sullivan,  3-15 ;  Trenton  cam- 
paign, 16-26;  Princeton  cam- 
paign, 27-38;  battle  of  the  Bon- 
homme  Richard  and  the  Serapis, 
39~5S  5  Saratoga  campaign,  56- 
83;  Carolina  campaign,  84-116; 
capture  of  Ticonderoga,  117-120; 
storming  of  Stony  Point,  121- 
125 ;  storming  of  Paulus  Hook, 
125-127;  minor  sea  rights,  128- 
142 ;  siege  and  surrender  01 
Yorktown,  143-159 

Riall,  Maj.-Gen.,  228-231,  233,  235 

Rieaesel,  Baron,  59,  61,  73,  75-76 

Ripley,  Eleazer,  228,  229,  232,  235, 
237,  238,  242 

Robertson  (Commander  of  the  Con- 
fiance'),  269 

Rochambeau,  Gen.,  148,  154,  156 

Rodgers,  John,  187 

Rogers,  Lieut.,  248 

Rota  (British  frigate),  277 

Rowe,  Midshipman,  203 

Rutledge,  Gov.  of  S.  C.,  5, 6,  8,  9 

St.  Clair,  Gen.,  in  the  Revolution, 
58-60;  in  the  Indian  War,  166- 

175 

St.  Johns,  capture  of,  120 
St.  Lawrence  (British  battle-ship),  7 
St.  Leger,  Lieut.-Col.,  62,  63,  66 
Saratoga  (American  sloop-of-war), 

260,  262,  264-266,  268-269,  271 
Saratoga,  campaign  of,  56-83 ;  Con- 
vention of,  8 1 
Sargent,  Col.,  167 
Saumarez,  Midshipman,  n 
Scarborough  (British  sloop-of-war), 

45.  53.  54 
Schuyler,  Gen.,  61,  63,  66,  71,  72 


Scott,  Winfield,  226-235,  237»  23% 
Serapis    (British     frigate),    45-49, 

51-54 

Sibylle  (British  war  ship), -141,  142 
Siren   (American    war   brig),   203, 

204,  211,  259,  305 
Solebay  (British  frigate),  7,  8,  13 
Somerville,  Philip,  277 
Sphynx  (British  sloop-of-war),  7,  8, 

'3 

Stansbury   (officer    on    the    Ticon- 
deroga), 267 
Stark,  John,  67-70 
Sterrett,  Lieut.,  185 
Stewart,  Col.,  110-114 
Stewart,  Maj.,  123 
Stewart,  Charles.  201,  203,  204,216, 

304-3 "7 

Stillwater,  Battle  of,  76-79 

Stony  Point,  storming  and  surrender 
of,  121-125 

Sullivan,  Gen.,  20-25 

Sullivan,  Fort,  building  of,  5;  de- 
fense of,  6-14;  change  of  name 

H 

Sumter,  Thomas,  88,  91,  loo,   102, 

103,  109 
Sutherland  (Commander  of  Paulus 

Hook),  126 
Syren  (British  frigate),  7,  8,  13 


Tarleton,  Banastre,  89.  92-95,  146 
Tartarus  (British  sloop-of-war),  255 
Thorn,  Jonathan,  203 
Thornton,  Col.,  297-298,  301-303 
Thunder  (British  bomb  vessel),  7 
Ticonderoga  (American  war  vessel), 

260,  262,  266-267,  27-'»  27f 
Ticonderoga,    Fort,  British   attack, 

59-60;    American   abandonment, 

60;  besieged  by  Americans,  76; 

storming  and  surrender,  117-120 
Towson,  Nathan,  228,  231,  234 
Towson,  Fort,  239,  241 
Trenton,  attack  on,  19-26 
Trepassy   (British    war  ship),    140, 

141 

Tripolitan  War,  199-212 
Triimbiill  (American  frigate),  132- 

135 
Truxtun,    Thomas,    179-186,    188- 

192,  194-195 
Tucker,  Col.,  239 


326 


Index 


Unicorn  (British  war  vessel),  139- 

140 
United  States   (American   frigate), 

183,  199 

Vengeance  (American  war  ship),  44, 

46 
Vengeance,    La    (French    frigate), 

179,  188-195 

Villere,  Gabriel,  287,  289-291 
Viomenil,  Baron  de,  153,  154 

Wabash  Creek,  Indian  attack  at, 
170-175 

War  of  1812,  Constitution  and  the 
Java,  215-225  ;  last  battle  of  the 
Constitution,  304-317;  Wasp 
and  the  Frolic,  244-249;  second 
Wasp's  encounters,  250-257; 
Reid  and  the  General  Arm- 
strong, 272-286;  Niagara  cam- 
paign, 226-243  5  treaty  of  peace, 
243 ;  Macdonough's  victory  at 
Lake  Champlain,  258-271 ;  de- 
fense of  Louisiana,  287-303 

Warner,  Seth,  60,  61,  70,  118,  120 

Washington,  Lieut. -Col.,  87,  95,  99, 
104-105,  112-113 

Washington,  George,  Trenton  and 
Princeton  campaign,  16-18;  at- 


tack on  Trenton,  18-26;  Battle 
of  Princeton,  27-36;  results  of 
campaign,  37-38;  recruiting  of 
Gates's  army,  73 ;  recruiting 
of  Southern  army,  86-87;  storm- 
ing of  Stony  Point,  121,  122,  124; 
storming  of  Paulus  Hook,  127; 
recruiting  of  Virginian  army,  145- 
146;  Yorktown  campaign,  147- 
159;  in  the  Indian  War,  163-165, 
176 

Washington,  William,  24 

Washington,  Fort,  capture  of,  72 

Wasp  (American  corvette),  244- 
249.  257 

Wasp  (American  corvette,  second), 
250-257 

Watson,  Fort,  89,  102,  103 

Watts,  Maj.,  63 

Wayne,  Anthony,  116,  121-125, 146, 
147,  175,  176 

Whinyates,  Thomas,  249 

Willet,  Marinus,  65-66 

Williams,  Otho,  87,  91,  100,  112 

Williamsburg,  Battle  of,  146-147 

Wool,  Lieut.,  277 

Yarmouth  (British  ship-of-the-line), 

129-131 
Yorktown,  campaign  and  surrender 

of,  143-159 


o 

CO 

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